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THE JOURNAL

CLAUDE BLANCIIARD,

COMMISSARY OF THE FRENCH AUXILIARY ARMY SENT

TO THE UNITED STATES DURING THE

AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

1 7 8 0 -- 1 7 8 3 .
Cranslatetr from a jFrcudj i^auugcript,

BY WILLIAM DUAIs^E,

AND

EDITED BY THOMAS BALCH.

ALBANY, J. MUNSELL.

1876.

■<>

^ !^

Entered According to Act of Congress in the year 1876,

By Thomas Balch,

In the office ol the Librarian of Congress

CONTENTS.

CHAPTEE I.

Preparations for departure — Couqxtsifion of the Squadron
Conveying the Auxiliary Corpjs — Departure from Brest —
Voyage — Engagement unth an English Sqnadron at the
Bermuda Islands — Considen/hlr X'i(iid>cr (f Deaths and of
Sick Persons on Board — Aimthi r M<<'tin<j[ iritlmnt an En-
gagement, urith a Squadron of the Einni'i/ inar the Chesa-
peake Bay — Arrival at Eho'de Islan d and Lan ding, 1

CHAPTER II.

Landing at Rhode Island — Threatened Attack of an English
Fleet — Establishment of tlai Hospitals — J/. Blaia-Iiard is
sent to Boston — Rhode Island is pAared in a State of De-
fense — Composition of the Army — First Intercourse of the
French Generals with General Washington — Residence at
Providence — Its Environs — Markets for the Army —
Winter Quarters of the French Forces, 41

CHAPTER III.

Arrival of General Washingtofi at Newport — Emharkation of
a Body of Troops on board of the Squadron — 31. Blanch-
ard is vnth it — Naval Engagement in Chesapeake Bay —
The Army begins its Alarch to form a Junction with
the Americans — M. Blanchard precedes it — He passes
through Providence, Waterman- Tavern, Plainfeld, Wind-
ham, Bolton, Hartford, Farmington, Baron-Tavern, Break-
neck, Neiotovm, and Peekskill-Landing — Sojourn at General
Washington's Camp at Peekskill — 3Iarch of the Two

Armies against Kew York — Ckmips of Northcastle and
Ph'dUpsburg — Character of General de Rochambeau — Thd
Squadron of 31. de Grasse is announced — The tico Ai'mies
move to support it, 92

CHAPTER IV.

The AlJicd Armies cross the Xorth river (wd march towards
the (lu'Hdpeal^e Bay — M. Bhinchard rejoins them shortly
afterwards — He passes throia pi ^Mnpp<nn/, Somerset, Prince-
ton and RedUne>< — Stops at J^JiiJailiJpJi !<i and goes throiigh
Chester, ^VUmlngton, Bra iidgicii,i\ Cln-i.^tinn Bridge and
Head of Elk, where he rejoins fJic Amrg — He Emharks with
a Detachment to Effect a Junction wlfji the Trooj)s brought
by M. de Grasse's Squadron, irliidi liad arrived In the bay, 129

[In the original, the Table of Contents is continued no liirther.]

Blanchard reaches M. de Grasse''s Elect and 2yroceeds up tJie
James River to join the Forces under LaFayette at Williams-
burg — Dllfculty of procuring Stipplies, esp)ecially for the
Sick — T/ie Trenches are opened against Yorktoimi — He avy
Firing on both Sides — Two of the English Redoubts are
captured, one by the French and the other by the Ameri-
cans— The English xur render — The French Troopjs go into
Winter Quarters In Xorember — In June, 1782, they march
to the JVortha-ard and having qmssed through Alexandria,
Bcdtimore, Philadelphict and Trenton, they reach their Old
Camjnng Ground on the JSforth River, where they rest for
a month and aftervmrds march to Boston — On the Way,
Gen. Rochambeau is Arrested for Trespass — In December,
\1S2, Blanchard proceeds to the West Indies on Board of
the Triomphant ; Visits Porto Cabello and Port cm
Prince — He returns to France, reaching Brest on the 2d
of July, 1783, and proceeds to Echarbot, where he meets with
his Family, after an Absence of more than three Years, 140

LaJej\ 202

EDITOR'S PREFACE.

During a sojourn of some years in Europe I occupied
myself in collecting books, engravings or other materials
for a contribution to American and French history, the
subject of which did not seem to me to have been tho-
roughly studied or ftiirl}" narrated. It was intended that
the work should be a careful history of the part taken by
the French in the American war for independence. The
first part of the work, giving a history of the expeditionary
corps under Rochambeau, from its embarkation to its re-
turn, with a full narrative of the military operations in
which it was engaged, was published in Paris in 1872 ' Tlie
second part, containing notices of the regiments and fleets,
and of the officers who served in our cause, whether as volun-
teers, or under the orders of the French government, is
now ready and will shortly appear in that city.

Most of the sources from which I derived the materials
for these volumes were manuscripts, several of which are

Paris, A. Sauton ; PhilacU'lpliia, J. B. Jjippincoft.

enumerated in an opening chapter of the part already pub-
ished. ^ One of these is presented in the following pages,
to the students of American history. As we learn from
Mr. Blanchard's own preface, it is truly a Journal in
which were noted down almost daily such military, social
or political incidents as seemed to him of sufficient import-
ance to be recorded for the instruction of his children, or
for his own reminiscences in later life.

This manuscript came into my hands through the kind-
ness of its possessor, Mr. Maurice La Chesnais, the great
grandson of its author. To him I am also indebted for the
information which enables me to give a notice of Mr.
Blanchard.

Claude Blanchard, a descendant of one of the noble
French families, was born at Angers the 16 May, 1742.
In 1762 he entered the ministry of war " under the orders
of one of his relatives," Mr. Dubois, the chief of the
bureaux in the War Department, who also held other
responsible positions. In 1768 Blanchard was named war-
commissary, and remained in Corsica for ten years with
this rank. He was promoted for his services, and in 1780
was sent as commissary-in-chief with Greneral Rochambeau

Les FraiK^ais en Aneriqae, pp. 6 - 17.

to America. In his Journal we have incidentally an account
of the duties of his office. In 1788 he was sent to Arras,
where he was called upon to act as commander of the
IS'ational Guard, and was soon sent to the legislative
assembly as its representative together with Carnot, then
wholly obscure though since so well known for the part
which he subsequently played in the unhappy drama of
the French revolution. In the assembly Mr. Blanchard
exercised his functions unobtrusively but discreetly and so
far gained the ftivorable consideration of his fellow-legis-
lators, that he was the most frequent chairman of military
committees, making the reports on these questions, an
honor which was shared between him, General Lacuee and
Mathieu Dumas. He was deprived of his position as
commissary by the committee of public safety, but later,
after their fall, he became chief commissary to the army
of the Sambre and Meuse, then to the army of the Interior,
and lastly to the Hotel des Invalides, where he died in
1802, leaving to his family " an honorable name, and the
reputation of remarkable virtues and talents." Such
at least was the language in which General Beranger an-
nounced his death. The first consul, on hearing of his
decease, expressed his regrets in w^arm and feeling terms. ^

^Eevue Militaire Fraiu^aise. 1809. p. 3'^

Many matters of interest will be found in the following
pages concerning the organization and discipline of both
branches of the French service. The bad food, the filthy,
black water, the ravages of the scurvy, the frequent deaths,
testify to the character of the one ; the insubordination of
the oflicers, the duels, often fatal ; " a man-slayer," says
Blanchard, " but it was my fate to meet them every-
where ;" do not present an attractive picture of the other.
It may be inferred that Custine's violence was the sole act
of the kind which occurred, and let us hope that insolent
as de Marigny's answer was, yet that it was not by his hand
de Ternay lost his life, but that the unhappy commander
died of fever, as Mr. Blanchard wasjnformed he did.^

Interesting as Mr. Blanchard's Journal is, it gives but
few military details. The Journal of Count de Menon-
ville is, on the other hand, full and minute in this respect.
So is the Narrative of the Baron du Bourg, who also re-
counts the incidents which passed in the "military family "
of de Rochambeau. Du Petit Thouars tells the story of the
campaigns of d'Estaing and de Grasse. Prince de Broglie's
Relation (of which I have the translation ready for the

' In some of the other manuscripts the brighter side of the French cliaracter
is agreeably depicted.

press), gives sprightly and entertaining pictures of society
in Philadelphia, jS'ewport and Boston. ^ The Comte de
Pontgibaud describes his adventures whilst aid-de-carnp
to La Fayette, and those with which he met later when he
and others came to America to escape the guillotine.
This collection of manuscripts, together with extracts of
documents which I found in the archives of the French war
and navy departments, form a full and circumstantial his-
tory of the French military and naval operations in
America whilst they were acting as our allies,

I have added a few notes to the Journal, and at first pur-
posed giving a historical sketch of the various regiments
and biographical notices of the officers taken from the manu-
script of a volume, as yet unpablished, which I have pre-
pared partly from the French archives, partly from other
and diversified sources of information. But it was feared
that such a mass of notes would make the book rather
heavy, and they were laid aside. Much and interesting
information concerning the regiments can be found in the
excellent works of Gen. Suzanne.^

' I would be much pleased to obtain a copy of the Ver'ses in French
addressed by Mrs. Tudor to Marie Antoinette; of which the Prince de Brog-
lie makes mention, but which my researches have thus far failed to discover

^ Hlstoire de V Ancieiine Infanterie Frangaise, par le General Suzanne,
Paris, 1853, 8 vols, with atlas. La Cdvalerie Frangaise, 2 vols., Paris, 1874

The choice of de Rochambeau as the commander of the
auxiliary armj-corps was due to the wise and unselfish
counsels of La Fayette, and it was fortunate for the cause
of the Americans that so skillful a stategist was selected.
The well known compliment addressed to him by Napoleon
was fully deserved, and the part which he took in the cam-
paign which terminated our war is a proof of its justice.
The appointment of de Ternay was probably due to
similar influences. But the fidelity with which that con-
scientious ofiicer executed his orders led to unhappy results
for him. Hu sacrificed everything to the successful convoy
and landing of the troops. Twice during the voyage he
refused to deliver battle with English squadrons when, as
subsequent events showed, he would certainly have been
victorious. The reproaches of his captains were bitter.
The stings of his own wounded pride were unbearable.
They produced and aggravated a fever which ended his
life. But the kino; recoo-nized his meritorious self-abne-
gation, and ordered a monument to be erected to his me-
mory, bearing an inscri[)tion fairly and honorably earned
by him who slept beneath the stone. ^ Republican grati-

' The original inscription in Latin and a translation into English, the
particulars of de Ternay's death, the funeral cer>nionies, and the facts con-
nected with the restoration of the monument, are narrated in an eloquent

tude allowed it to fall into decay ; but fortunately, in
1873, the Marquis de Noailles, then French envoy at
Washington, visited jSTewport, and with the permission of
his government, and at its expense, had the monument re-
constructed. On the motion of Senator Anthony a bill
was passed to repay these expenses, but the French go-
vernment declined the otFer. The sum voted was there-
upon converted by congress into a fund for the future
preservation of the monument, and thus, though tardily,
has been secured the tribute due to the memory of one of
the many gallant Frenchmen who sacrificed their lives to
secure the independence of America.

Some glimpses also of American society appear in the
Journal : the impression produced by General Wash-
ington's appearance and manners. General Varnum's con-
versation in Latin, the hospitality of Lady Washington
and of Mrs. Greene, the beauty of Mrs. Temple and other
ladies, Madeira and toasts, the schools, the churches, the
psalm-singing, the ragged and unshod soldiers, the taste
for porcelain, the men spending whole days by their fire-

speech by Senator Anthony on introducing a bill, Dec. 10, 1873, to pay the
expenses of reconstructing the monument to the Chevalier de Ternay. Me-
morial Addresses delivered in the United States senate by Henry B. An-
thony. Providence, 1875.

sides and wives ; these, and many similar incidents, give us
quite an insight into the American life of that day, as it
presented itself to the eyes of a French gentleman, rather
ceremonious in his manners and rigid in his principles.
He more than once mentions the beauty of the females,
more often their innocence and simplicity. Their descend-
ants have reason to be proud of them. In all the manuscripts
which I have in hand, written by these European soldiers
of divers temperaments and characters, a profound, almost
reverential, testimony is borne to the graceful manners,
the native dignity, the unsullied conduct, the moral purity
of the American women.

Mr. Blanchard prepared a preface to his manuscript, of
which a translation, due likewise to the pen of Mr. Duane,
who has so admirably '" rendered into English" the Jour-
nal itself, is herewith given.

PREFACE.

I was employed for three years, as chief commissary,
with the troops which M. de Rochambeau led to the
assistance of the Americans. During all that war, I wrote
down, almost everyday, the events which I witnessed, and
those which concerned myself This journal is not in
very good order, and now that I have some leisure (Mes-
sidor of the year II of the French republic), I am about
to make a fair copy of it, without changing anytliing in
the style and form. If I should make any new reflections,
I will say so, though this information is quite useless, for
positively I am writing only for myself and with the view
of turning my leisure to some account.

Before conmiencing this journal, I ought to give an idea
of the United States of America ; besides, I find this notice
in my journal, and I wrote it at the time of the departure
of the expedition.

The country comprised in the United States of America
extends along the eastern coast of North America, from
latitude 46° to 30°, that is, for about three hundred and
ten leagues ; but it has not an equal breadth, for in many

places it does not extend more than sixt}^ leagues ; and
the population of this country is not in proportion to its
size. The inhabitants are reckoned to be about three
millions. The provinces, beginning with those to the
north, are ]^ew Hampshire, Massachusetts, wherein is
Boston, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsyl-
vania, wherein is Philadelphia, the seat of the congress,
Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, ITorth Carolina, South
Carolina, and Georgia, wherein is Sav^annah.^

There are several islands forming parts of some of these
provinces, such as L(mg Island. The troops of the English
royalists are chiefly stationed in Kew York; they also
have man}^ places in Carolina, some troops in Georgia and
especially at Savannah. [This was written in the early
part of 1780.]

To the northward and westward of the thirteen provinces
is Canada, which belonged to France, and which she ceded
to England by the last treaty of peace, that of 1762. South
of the thirteen provinces is Florida, also ceded to England
by Spain, which France indemnified by giving to her her
possessions upon the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico.

Besides these possessions of the English, which form a
bow around the thirteen states, of which Clinton's army
in New Jersey resembles the end of the arrow, there are
also some savage nations which sometimes attack and

' The writer omits New Jersey.

plunder the subjects of the United States. Let us now con-
sider these states. Each of the thirteen provinces has its
own council, its own militia, and its own hiws; each sends
a deputy to the general assembly, otlierwise known as the
congress, which is held at Phihxdelphia. Over this congress,
a deputy from one of the provinces presides in turn.

It is the congress that directs the operations of the nation
which makes alliances, receives the envoys of sovereigns,
appoints envoys to them, corresponds with the generals, and
makes the laws.

It seems that each deputy brings to the congress the
vote of his province, and that the decisions of the congress
are then sent to the provinces.

How much soever the subjects of this newborn republic
may be attached to their government, they cannot conceal
froiM themselves that there are many of those who are
called tories or royalists, who, either from fear or atfec-
tion, have an attachment for the government of England.
A very large part of the money is of paper, and, unfor-
tunately, it is very much discredited.

Such are the inconveniences, but they vanish when we
remember that, notwithstanding all obstacles, the power
of England has been baffled in America by the love of
country and of liberty, which has hitherto animated the
Anglo-Americans, that many English generals have been
successively defeated there, that Burgoyne has shamefully

passed under the joke, and that there, more than anywhere
else, Voltaire's verses have had their effect. Injustice has
finally produced Independence.

Philadelphia was taken by General Howe, who was
obliged to abandon it, although supported by his brother,
Admiral Howe.

To be well acquainted with this country, we must study
the maps, endeavor to know the great rivers, the position
of the cities upon the banks of these rivers, from the point
to which they are navigable and as far as vessels can ascend.

It would be well to write down all these observations
and to begin by an epitome of the revolution ; and then
to proceed to other observations upon the general admin-
istration, that of each province in particular, the laws, the
courts, the police, the military forces, the productions, the
commerce, etc.; to become well acquainted with the
position of the armies, in order to omit nothing that can
furnish correct ideas respecting the country and this inte-
resting people.

It should be remembered that great prudence is required
in America, when it is necessary to have intercourse with
its inhal)itants. Especially, should we avoid exhibiting
any air of contempt; the people are poor and exhausted
by the efforts which they have made to defend their liberty.
The French come to assist thera, they ought not to display
the pride of protection.

JOURNAL

CHAPTER I.
THE VOYAGE.

The Count De Rochambeau, lieutenant general of
the army, having been appointed to command a body
of troops, intended to be embarked, without anyone's
knowing positively whither they were to proceed,
caused me to be employed to serve with these troops
as commissary. In consequence, I proceeded to Brest
on the 20th of March, 1780.

M. de Tarle, directing commissary, discharging the
functions of intendant to this body of troops, did not
arrive there until eight or ten days afterwards ; he
brought me a commission as chief commissary. Find-
ing myself alone at Brest, I worked with the generals
of the land and sea forces in embarking all the goods

and supplies needed for the troops after their landing.
The navy, being unable to furnish a sufficient number
of transports, they were obliged to leave in France the
regiments of Neustrie and Anhalt, which were, origi-
nally, intended to be embarked, as also two or three
hundred men of Lauzun's legion. Only five thousand
men were embarked, namely, the regiments of Bour-
bonnais, Soissonnais, Saintonge, Eoyal Deux-Ponts,
about five hundred artillerists and six hundred men of
Lauzun's legion, three hundred of whom were intended
to form a troop of horse ; these troops, their efifects,
the artillery and other objects necessary for an army,
were embarked in from twenty-five to thirty transports
or store-ships ; they were escorted by seven ships of
war and two frigates, namely :

Shijjs. Gnus. Commanders.

The Duke of Burgundy, The Chevalier de Tern ay,

doubly sheathed with chief of the squadron,

copper,^ 80
The l^eptune, doubly

sheathed with copper, 74 Destouches,

The Conquerant, 74 La Grandiere,

The Provence, 64 Lombard,

' Vessels of this class were rare at that day, and were noted
for rapid sailing. The admiral hoisted his flag on board of
this shi}), and (u'lieral Kochanihcau was a }iassenger, with some
of his staff.

Ships.

Owns.

Commanders.

The Eveille, doubly she

athed

with copper,

de Tilly,

The Jazon,

de Clochetterie,

The Ardent,

The Chevalier de Ma-
rigny.

Frigates.

The Surveillante,

Sillart,

The Amazone,

La Perouse,'

The Guepe, a cutter.

The Chevalier de Mau-
lurier.

The Fantasque, an old vessel, was armed en flute
and was intended to serve as a hospital ; the treasure,
the heavy artillery and many passengers were em-
barked upon it.

All the general officers lay on board on the 14th of
April. I was there also and embarked upon the Con-
querant. On the first night I lay in the gun room
with thirty or forty persons. The next day they pre-
pared a little lodging place for me in the great cabin ;
that is where they eat. I lay there in a hammock,
in the English fashion, over a cannon. I can write
there, sitting on a portmanteau, and I have light
through a port-hole.

The convoy started and anchored at Bertheaume,
which is likewise in the roadstead, but three leagues

The celebrated ua^■igator.

from Brest. On the 16th we were unmoored and
ready to follow ; but the wind having changed to the
west, we could not raise the anchors : these west
winds, which were contrary to us, also lasted for some
days. I availed myself of it to go frequently on shore
to finish some business which I had been compelled to
leave unfinished. Altogether, I was not useless at
this embarkation, owing to my activity and concilia-
tory disposition. At last, on the 2d of May, the wind
changed to the north and we started immmediately.
We passed, as did all the convoy, between the Island
of the Saints and the Beak of Ratz ; this passage is
narrow and even dangerous, it is said, but, I believe,
not so for good sailors ; we went through without ac-
cident. This route took us away from the entrance
of the channel and from every undesirable meeting;^
we made about twenty leagues that day. We would
have made more if the convoy had not obliged us to
bring to two or three times : we could not lose sight
of them, which often compelled us to wait. The next
day, the 3d, we continued our course, by the help of
the same north wind, but it was light ; we had almost
a dead calm at noon and were only thirty-two leagues
from Brest. One of the frio;ates chased two small ves-

1 The Euglisli fleet under Graves was watching for them.

sels. The ships of war and the transports proceeded
in order ; on the 4th, we met a Danish ship coming
from Naples and going to Hamburg ; we obliged it to
follow us for twenty-four hours. We continued to
sail in this manner in the Gulf of Gascony until the
9th, on which day the wind became directly contrary,
it came from the west ; we might then be thirty
leagues from Cape Ortegal. At four o'clock in the
afternoon the wind became violent, it was a real
tempest ; we were at the Cape and we remained there
during the whole of the 10th. It is a very painful
situation for persons who suffer from sea-sickness. I
suffered then, and greatly, although I had already
sailed upon the Mediterranean, going to and returning
from Corsica, a voyage which I have often made. I
remained in bed during the whole of the 10th and did
not recover until the 14th. On this day the wind
grew calm and we left the gulf fifteen leagues to the
north west of Cape Finisterre. One of our ships, the
Provence, lost her fore top owing to this bad weather ;
the captain wished to leave the squadron, but some
carpenters were sent on board of her and the damage
was quickly repaired. On the 15th, Mons. de Ternay
sent back a frigate which did not form a part of our
squadron ; she was to carry news of us and to put into
port in Spain. I was informed of it late, yet I hastily

wrote a word to my wife and to Mons. Coussard.
This day and the next, the wind was north and pretty
fresh ; we made seven knots an hour, which makes
two leagues and a third ; yet we had only one or two
sails hoisted, on account of the convoy, which would
not have been able to follow us, and among which
there were some laggards. Thus, we lay by every day
to give them time to rally. I was now wonderfully
well and I profited by it to write the preceding details.
Hereafter, I have written every day as will be seen.

May IdtJi. The winds continue northwardly, and
although they are not so strong as on the 16th and
17th (on those days we made forty-six leagues^ in
twenty-four hours) we could not be anything else than
very well satisfied with the progress which we are
making. We were then in the latitude of Cape Vin-
cent, at the distance of about a hundred leagues.
Whilst the weather is fine, I am about to write some
details respecting the vessel in which lam embarked.
At our departure it drew 22 feet of water at the bow,
and 19 at the stern ; height of the main mast 104
feet; main yard, 95 ; foresail mast 95 feet; mizzen
mast, 74 ; bowsprit, 62. Here are the names of the
naval and military officers, with whom I am embarked.

Marine leao:ues.

La Grandiere, captain,

Chirfontaine, ditto, second in command.

Nupuy, first lieutenant.

Blessing, ditto (a Swedish officer).

Ensigns. La Jonquieres, Kergu, Maccartlij, Duparc
de Bellegarde, Buissy.

Naval Guards. Li vet, Legritz, Lourmel.

Auxiliary Officers. Cordier, Deshayes, Marassin, Gu-
zence ; we left one of them, M. Gautier, sick at Brest.

We also had the capta,in's son, but he was not yet a
marine officer.

Officers of Infantry, a detachment upon the vessel,
drawn from the regiment of La Sarre ; Laubanie,
captain ; La Mothe, lieutenant ; Loyas, sub-lieutenant.

Passengers. The Baron de Viomenil, major general ;
Count de Custine, brigadier and colonel of the regiment
of Saintonge.

The Grenadier company of the said regiment, of
which these were the officers : De Vouves, captain ;
De James, ditto, in the second class; Champetier,
lieutenant ; Josselin, lieutenant in the second class ;
Denis, sub-lieutenant; Fanit. second sub-lieutenant.

Menonville, lieutenant colonel, attached to the staff
of the army.

De Chabannes and De Pange, aides de camp of M.
de Viomenil.

Brizon, a cavalry officer, discharging the functions
of secretary to the said general.

We also had a surgeon and a chaplain, making part
of the staff of the vessel. Including the domestics and
the passengers, there are 960 persons on board, with
provisions for six months. Up to this day, the 19th,
there are no sick on board except several sailors, al-
ready attacked by the scurvy at the time of our de-
parture from Brest. However, we have lost an old
sailor.

On the 20th, we had the same wind ; to-day a man
died on board. I remark that we ought not to be
surprised that the winds were always from the north
or north east. These winds are constant in these
parts and are what are called the trade winds. Ad-
vantage is taken of them to go to St. Domingo ;
another route is followed, for returning.

On the 21st, the same wind, and pretty strong ; we
made 25 leagues in 24 hours. At noon, on the said
day, we being in 35° 19' of latitude, and 20° 19' of
longitude, I ascended to the mizzen-top. I was not
lashed there, as is usually done ; I gave six livres to
the top-men ; the first sailors are thus called, those
who commonly remain in the tops. To ascend the
tops whilst under sail, at about forty years of age,
when one is not accustomed to it, is not bad.

On the same day the admiral having signaled to go
on board to receive some orders, I accompanied the
officer who was sent. M. de Tarl6, our commissary,
who had embarked thereon, confirmed me in the be-
lief that we were going to New England and that we
would land at Rhode Island. I had always thought
that such was our destination, inasmuch as we had
embarked goods suitable for the savages, and which
must be given to them in the intercourse that we might
have with them. They dwell on the frontiers, as is
known. I also learnt that a vessel which they had
met some days before had mentioned that a Spanish
fleet had set out on the 20th of April from Cadiz, but
that its destination was unknown.

On the 22d, the same wind, north and north east.
We were on the o4tli degree of latitude, forty leagues
from Madeira, the weather was pretty cloudy this day
and, in general, it has always been so since we left
Cape Finisterre ; we do not experience great heat.
This cloudy weather caused me violent head-aches,
especially at night, but I experience the same on land.
Otherwise, my health was good.

My servant, Bourdais, has been sick for some days
with a violent cold and an intermittent fever.

At this period, our real destination was unknown
on board, and many persons supposed that we were

going to Jamaica. They believed it the rather be-
cause, for reasons which I shall explain hereafter, we
bore much towards the south, and were following
the route which is taken to go to Jamaica or Saint
Domingo.

The 25th, Corpus Christ! day. The latitude, 35°.
We continued to make from 25 to 30 leagues a day,
the convoy preventing our doing more : every day we
lay to.

The Me of France, a store-ship, or, at least, a large
transport ship, which had a part of the regiment of
Bourbonnais on board, and wherein my brother-in-law
was the Chevalier de Coriolis, a lieutenant in this regi-
ment, had taken in tow the Baron cT Arras, another
transport ship. On the same day, a vessel armed as
a man of war and laden with merchandise, called the
Lutin, which had followed us up to this day, left us
to proceed to Cayenne.

I remark that on the 24th the admiral had slightl3''
altered his course and borne more towards the west ;
nevertheless the reasoners considered that we were
still going too far towards the south.

For some days past we have seen in the wake of
the vessel, a great number of fishes which they said
were bormites ; the crew took one of them weighing
four pounds ; this fish tastes like the tunny-fish, but

it seemed to me not so good and drier. In the Medi-
terranean they are called polomine.

Sunday the 27th at noon we were in Latitude 29°
55' and had made 30 leagues in our 24 hours. Our
politicians are still in a state of uncertainty, seeing us
go so much to the south, and there are some who pre-
tend that we are going to Porto Rico to take some
Spaniards. Notwithstanding all my presumptions for
believing that we were goiug to North America, I
myself will soon no longer know what to think of it.

On the 28th, at noon, the admiral signaled the point
of the compass and to bear towards the west ; then
all doubts were dispelled, and we saw plainly that we
were going to New England. I made a bet, this day,
that we would see the coast on the 26th of June, and
persisted in asserting that we would land upon Rhode
Island.

We were in the latitude of 28° and as high up as
the Azores at the moment when the point of the com-
pass was signaled.

It appears that this route, so much to the south,
had been directed by the court in order to avoid the
English : it is the same which M. d'Estaing followed
in 1778, and which we verified by the diary of M. de
Bellegarde, an ensign on board of our vessel, who had
been in M. d'Estaing's squadron. We bore towards

the west, exactly in the same latitude as he. Some
sailors pretend that the northern route is preferable ;
it is much shorter ; yet Admiral Byron, who followed
it when he was running after M. d'Estaing, was greatly
delayed therein and arrived after the French admiral.
After all, this route enabled us to avoid the English,
whom we must especially avoid on account of the
convoy.

The 29th. According to the pilot's report, we have
made 36 leagues, and it seems that we continue to go
along well ; for the wind is fresh and directly from
the east, which gives us a wind in our stern, as we
proceed westwardly. We have few sick persons ; my
servant is better. As to myself, at the moment when
I am writing, I am perfectly well and without any
indisposition, not the least head ache ; I cannot say
as much concerning the preceding days, having been
tormented by it almost continually. Without doubt
these head aches proceed from the stomach, owing to
the bad food on board. ^ Tea has been very beneficial

1 Let me be pardoned for recurring so often to my health ; it
proves that when one is on hoard ship, he has little diversion
and concerns himself much about himself. I ought also to say
that I had scarcely recovered from illness when I went to sea.
This sickness, which I had neglected, I had contracted at Mor-
tain, whither I was called, during the autumn of 1779, to put in
order the hospitals of that city, crowded with 2000 patients,

to me in these head aches, especially if a little citron
was put therein. I write these details for my children
and friends, who may be obliged to go to sea. At sea,
if one suffers, he is disgusted, disheartened and curses
the sea, but these moments pass away and one loves
it. I perceived that I should become accustomed to
it and that this service would even have been attract-
ive to me. Whilst I am writing, I feel happy ; it is
true that we have reason to be satisfied with all the
officers, excepting the captain, who is ill-humored, de-
vout, illiberal, selfish, communing every Sunday,
without being more humane towards the sailors and
the sick, in short announcing a Molinist religion.
On the 31st,- we discovered at noon that we had

proceeding from the sqiuidrou of M. \"oirilliers, whieli hud re-
turned to Brest a short time before. These patients, attacked
by dysentery and putrid fever were massed in live hosi)itals,
hastily established ; T there lost a large part of the nurses and
many surgeons and apothecaries. The only two physicians who
were charged with the care of these live hospitals, contracted
serious diseases there, of which they nearly died. As I did not
spare myself on this occasion, I suffered from this pestilence for
a long time, the rather as I took no preventive. I niay say that
the labors which I then underwent were not ignored, and that
I procured myself some honor. [An interesting note and a sad
picture of the old French military administration, and which
does not seem to have improved in these latter days.]

1 1 do not find any remark upon the 30th, and 1 suspect that
some mistake as to the date has crept into my journal since the
26th and 27th when I was sick ; there is also a date erased.

made 41 leagues ; I observe that it is always at noon
that the pilot marks the point where we are upon the
chart, and that he gives the longitude and the latitude
to the captain of the vessel, since it is at noon that he
ascertains the last and takes the altitude ; it is at
noon also that a report is made of the progress that
has been made since noon on the day before : there-
fore when I say that we have gone 20 or 30 leagues it
is always since noon on the preceding day.

June. This day, the first of June, we saw much sea-
weed [goemon] ; we began to see it at the 30th degree
of latitude, and this continues as far as the tropics.
The grape of the tropics is also called goemon.

The goemon is a grass which is detached from the
submarine rocks and from the Canary islands ; it has
small grains shaped like grapes ; the sea is entirely
covered with it.

On the 2d, we sent on board the admiral's ship :
there it was openly said that we were about to land at
Newport in the island of Rhode Island. At noon, I
desired to take the altitude myself. I was struck by
seeing the sun directly over our heads ; I had not paid
attention to it up to that moment.

On the 3d, the wind being light, we made only 18
leagues. This day, the captains of the ships of the
line were ordered to go on board of the admiral's ship,

who probably gave them some instructions concerning
making land.

On the 4th, little wind still, we made only 17
leagues. A negro sailor died on boaid of our ship.
We then had about sixty sick persons in the Conquer-
ant. The other vessels had much fewer, but it must
be observed that the Conquerant had been fitted out for
a long time, that it had left Brest on the 22d of Feb-
ruary with M. de Guichen, but that having sustained
damage it was compelled to return : the whole crew
was composed of men, both sailors and soldiers, who
had been at sea for a long time. The other vessels
had just been fitted out at the time of our departure, and
the crews were men who, for the most part, had ar-
rived from their own homes. We also had on board
about 150 persons more than the usual number on a
vessel of our size, which occasioned crowding and was
injurious to the wholesomeness of the air. Besides it
seems to me that little attention was paid to the health
of the crew and that the sick were neglected.

On the 5th, we made only 5 leagues; we took a
gold fish, a fish which has beautiful colors and is
very good to eat.

On the 6th, we chased five vessels in the morning,
but we could not discover what they were ; as they
would have drawn us too much out of our course if we

had continued to follow them much longer, the admi-
ral caused the chase to cease. It seems to me that it
would, nevertheless, have been interesting to ascertain
what they were in order to obtain news ; besides, they
might have been English vessels coming from India,
and that would have been a good prize : that was their
course for returning to Europe, for they usually follow
that latitude to reach the Azores. We were then in
the latitude of 27° 31' and the longitude of 43° 39'.
The admiral signaled a change of course or point of
the compass and we ran west a quarter north west
and, consequently, we were to proceed no farther south.

On the 7th, the heat was powerful, the sky clear
and cloudless.

On the 8th, the admiral signaled a change of the
point of the compass and bore due west.

On the 9th, the wind is cool. We lost three men,
two of whom were soldiers ; one died the evening be-
fore ; eight in all since our departure.

On the 11th, M. de Viomenil and M. de Custine re-
ceived the order of battle, or instructions respecting
our landing and some other details concerning our ex-
pedition.

On the 12th, at 6 o'clock in the morning, our frigates
which had been ordered the night before to chase a
little vessel, brought it with them ; it was English

and laden with codfish ; it was coming from Halifax
and was bound to St. Eustacia. It told us that a ves-
sel of Arbuthnot's squadron, called the Defiance, had
been lost on the coast of New England, that the Robust,
a ship of war of the same squadron, had also been
greatly damaged and compelled to return to Halifax ;
it also informed us that M. de Guichen arrived at
Martinico on the 29th of March, and that Rodney had
not yet appeared there on the 6th of April. We also
learnt that the English were still busy in Carolina, but
that Charleston was not taken. The admiral caused
the codfish and the herrings with which this little
vessel was laden to be divided among the ships of
war of the squadron, and, after having pillaged and
unrigged it, we abandoned it. This day we made 30
leagues.

On the 13th, the admiral slightly changed his course
and bore more towards the west. Without doubt, he
was unwilling to go near the Bermudas, where gales
of wind are always encountered, and where we might
also meet with some English ships, which it was essen-
tial to avoid, having a convoy and assistance so im-
portant to convey to the Americans.

The 14th, remarkably cool ; the admiral caused the
squadron to advance, for some time, in order of battle,
that is to say, in a single line ; we usually proceeded

in two, and even in three, i\\e fiutes forming one line.
The remainder of the convoy kept to the windward of
the squadron. To-day I saw a Hying-fish. They
had been seen for some days past ; these fishes are
one or two feet long; they rather leap than fly, and it
is their fins that support them. That which I saw
kept himself between wind and water ; he passed over
about five or six fathoms. A soldier of the regiment
of La Sarre died on board.

On the 16th, we calculated that we were only two
hundred leagues from St. Domingo, where we would
have been already if that had been our destination.
The heat was powerful, we were 4° from the tropic and
were approaching the moment when the sun turns
(June 21st) ; consequently, it was almost perpendicu-
lar over our heads. So far, our voyage is agreeable,
hardly any heavy sea, a good wind, no accident and
few annoyances. Our ship was the only one suffering
from sickness. To-day another man died.

On the 18th, we found ourselves in the longitude of
the Bermudas ; it is this high up that the trade winds
cease and that variable winds are found. At 9 o'clock
a vessel was signaled, at 10 o'clock it was joined by
our frigates, which it waited for, supposing that it was
an English squadron that it perceived. This vessel,
which was an English brig, had fourteen four-pounders

and some s\yivels ; it had left Charleston at the be-
ginning of the month and was going to Barbadoes to
transport five officers who were rejoining their regi-
ments, and to carry some dispatches of the British
minister ; it had only a crew of thirty men ; they gave
us four sailors on board of the Conquerant. We learnt
from this vessel that the city of Charleston had sur-
rendered to the English on the 4th of May, and that
the siege began on the 1st of April. These news
made us desire more than ever to reach Newport or
some other point which the Americans should point
out to us. They also told us of an engagement be-
tween Rodney and M. de Guichen, but in a confused
manner, and without telling us of the result.

On the 19th, we sent ten sick persons on board of
the Fantasque ; we had already sent as many to it
some days before. This vessel was intended to serve
as a hospital, although having several passengers on
board.

On the 20th, we had made 34 leagues. At noon
the admiral signaled to steer to the north-west ; we
were then in 30° 24' of latitude and 69° 20' of longitude.
At half after one sails were signaled, which we caused
to be reconnoitered by the Neptune and the EveiUe, our
best sailers. These sails bore down upon us ; we did
not delay in approaching them. At 4 o'clock the

Neptune signaled that it was a hostile squadron ; it
was then very near one of the vessels of this squadron
and we supposed that it was about to commence the
engagement, which we would have supported, seeing
that we followed the Neptune pretty closely. Every
one on board of us was at his post, and the beating to
quarters had been ordered and executed. Then the
admiral gave the signal for forming in line of battle,
and we ran upon the same tack as the enemy, who
were then bearing to the south-west. It required
some time to form in line, because the vessels had
chased without regard to order, and each of them had
to regain its post. It was said that the admiral ought
to have formed the line without regard to rank. How-
ever that may be, we then perceived very distinctly
five ships of war and a frigate : three seemed to us to
be of 74 guns. At five o'clock the chaplain gave us
the benediction ; I visited all the posts with the Baron
Viomenil ; everywhere we witnessed the greatest
gaiety and the best behavior. The English were to
the windward, and our convoy, well collected, were to
the leeward of us. One of the enemy's vessels seemed
to wish to throw itself alongside of our convoy ; it
was the first of the English line ; we supposed it to
be cut oft' by the Neptune, which was also at the head
of our line. But the admiral, who wished to preserve

his line and cover his convoy, ordered it to slacken
sail, which was done. The Englishman then tried to
rejoin his squadron. It was six o'clock in the evening,
we then displayed the French flag, the English hoisted
that of their nation ; and immediately the Neptune
and the Enghsh ship, which was in advance of its Hne,
began to cannonade each other, and in succession all
our ships fired. The English vessel, against which
the Neptune had fought, manoeuvred very well and re-
turned to take the tail of its line ; it was exposed to
all the fire of ours, whilst replying. We fought a
little too far from each other. The English, who were
to the windward, might have come nearer, but they
did not seem to care about it. Nevertheless we saw
very distinctly some of our shot reach the English
vessels ; our ships for their part also received some.
As to our ship, it did not appear to have received a
single ball; the English fired too high., for we heard
the balls passing over our heads. This cannonade
lasted about a quarter of an hour. Daring this time,
I was before the mast with M. de Viomenil ; we also
proceeded back of the mast near the captain, and once
or twice I ascended the quarter deck bunk to under-
stand the manoeuvres better. The admiral, after this
first cannonade, gave the signal to take by counter-
marching, desiring by that means to get near the
enemy : as we formed the rear guard and as we were

the last to perform this movement, we greatly enjoyed
the sight of this manoeuvre, which is very handsome
and which was very well executed. The English
made no move in opposition to it and then showed that
they were unwilling to prolong this engagement ; it
was seven o'clock in the evening. Our ships again
fired some broadsides, especially at the vessel of the
rear guard, which had already been exposed to the
whole fire of our line. It replied on its part and did
not cease firing. As to us, it appeared to us too dis-
tant, and we despised firing upon it to no purpose.
The sun was about to set and the English withdrew.
It was too late to follow them ; besides it would have
been useless, they seemed to be good sailers and we
had bad sailers. Besides, the convoy, of which it
would have been imprudent to lose sight, would ne-
cessarily have delayed us. During the whole time the
wind had been southwardly, it was a little cool, the
sea was fine and everything was favorable for joining
battle or being a spectator of it. This was not such
as it might be ; but it might become murderous. We
had the beginning of it. It is then that one may
judge of the behavior of a person in it. They were
satisfied with mine, and I was satisfied with it
myself. In general every one conducted himself
well, and the captain set us the example of it. I

have not given a handsome portrait of him ; but we
pardon his defects on a day of battle, then he exhi-
bited much activity and great composure. I am
writing to-day, the 21st of June, the details of this
encounter according to the impression made upon me,
and such as I have beheld it ; and I believe that M. de
Ternay could not have behaved otherwise than he did,
as well on account of the convoy as with respect to
the little daylight which was left when the English
retired. Notwithstanding, from that very day I have
heard him blamed by some naval officers and other
persons, sufficiently enlightened : first, for having
formed his line according to the order of battle ; se-
condly, for having signaled the Neptune to slacken
sail at the moment when it was about to cut off the
English ship with which it was engaged, and which
would have been undoubtedly captured, as they al-
lege ; or else the English would have desired to assist
it, which would have brought on the engagement,
which must have been to our advantage, since we had
two more vessels, were better armed and had captains
of ships truly distinguished for their courage, such as M.
de la Clochetterie and M. de Marigny. I shall not
undertake to decide this question ; moreover, I shall
return to this cannonade and shall insert in my journal
the details which will be drawn up respecting it by some

man in the service, contenting myself in these first
moments with mentioning in my own way what I
have seen and what I think. The English having
disappeared, we proceeded in a bow and quarter line,
steering to the north-west. On the evening of the en-
gagement, whilst conversing with the Ardent, by means
of a speaking-trumpet we learnt that the Neptune had
had two men killed and five or six wounded.

On the 21st, at noon, we found that we had made
21 leagues, notwithstanding the time which we had
lost owing to this encounter; we saw the English no
more, but we captured a small vessel belonging to that
nation, laden with sailors going from Savannah to
Jamaica. That day we lost two men, a soldier and a
negro servant. All the sick whom we had shut up
during the fight in the holds, had suffered greatly,
many had come up on the deck and had taken their
posts. This soldier who died had asked the favor of
being allowed to serve. This day the admiral caused
the captain to come on board of his vessel ; we learnt
that the Duhe of Burgundy had had two men killed
and five or six wounded, and in the whole squadron
they summed up 21 men killed or wounded. It was
suspected on board of the Duke of Bur<jundy that it
was Admiral Arbuthnot whom we had met, and that
he was proceeding to Jamaica; that was also our

opinion, which agreed with that of the EngUsh offi-
cers who were prisoners in our ships.

On the 22d, 22 leagues. In the evening we had a
dead cahn. I took advantage of it to go on board of
the Ardent, to see my comrade, M. de Villemanzy, who
was on board of it, and M. Demars, the manager of
the hospitals. It seemed to me that they greatly re-
gretted there that we had not come nearer to the
enemy. M. de Marigny, without explaining himself
too much, seemed to regret it more than any one else ;
an answer of his to the admiral was quoted, which
deserves to be related ; the latter asked him with
what English admiral he believed that they had been
engaged. M. de Marigny replied : " We have lost the
opportunity of finding it out." To-day, several sails
were perceived from the tops of the masts; six of
them were counted, which were presumed to be the
ships which we had fought.

On the 23d, in the morning, the calm ended : the
wind was from the west and we may have made 14
leagues by noon. We went on a direct course towards
Rhode Island, from which we were distant 160 leagues.
The nearest land might be distant 110 leagues. Some
vessels were perceived which were chased to no pur-
pose. The Qaepe entered into this pursuit so far that
4

we lost sight of her ; she did not rejoin the squadron
until very late at night.

On the 24th, 15 leagues; in the evening, we again
had almost a dead calm. M. de Viomenil's brother, who
was on board of the Neptune, came aboard of our ship.
According to what he said to us, it did not appear that
they were as much dissatisfied aboard of the Neptune
with M. de Ternay's conduct as upon the other ships.
They only thought on board of this ship that he might,
without inconvenience, have permitted it to chase
the enemy's ship which it was pursuing, and which it
had attacked, as I have related ; it was a ship of 64
guns. They had lost only one man by sickness on
board of the Neptune, and they had not the scurvy
there ; we have already seen that we were not in so
good a condition, very far from it.

Note added, on copying this journal :

If I have spoken of this combat at great length, it
is because it interests me much and also because we
are incessantly speaking of it among ourselves. On a
vessel, the least event occupies the mind, and espe-
cially those of this sort. To-day when I am cool, I
judge without passion and with more experience : I
will therefore confess that I have defended M. de
Ternay too much. It is certain that his chief object
being to carry assistance to the Americans, he ought

not to risk an engagement so lightly, nor rashly to
expose the generals of the land forces and the troops
which are on board of the ships of war ; but on this
occasion he had so decided a superiority that he was
really wrong in causing the Neptune to slacken sail or
in forming his line in such a way as caused him to
lose much time.

Besides, we have since learnt that the five vessels
were commanded by Commodore Cornwallis, who was
returning to Europe with them after having escorted
a convoy, which was returning to Europe, as high up
as the Bermudas. The account that he has given of
this engagement is not entirely correct. It is to be
found in the Gazette of Utrecht of October 27th, 1780,
and the Courier of Eur ope o^ the loth of the same month.
He states that only three men were killed and five
wounded in his squadron, which seems impossible, cne
of his ships having been twice exposed to the fire of
our whole squadron. Our ships, which received the
fire of only a single English vessel, had many more.

Here is the list of this English squadron over which
we had a great superiority of force.

The Bristol, 50 guns ; The Sultan, 74 ; The Lion,
61 ; on board of which was the commodore. The
Hector, 74, and the Ruby, 64. (This is the one that
was engaged). He also had one frigate.

The 25th, 15 leagues.

The 26th, 16 leagues. A soldier of the regiment of
La Sarre, who had the scurvy, died on board.

The 27th, 27 leagues. In the evening, the wind
became violent and changeable ; there was thunder
and the admiral made us lie to ; we remained there
all night. The sea was rough. We lost a sailor.

On the 28th, at 10 o'clock, the sea became calmer.
At noon, we had made 13 leagues. We were then in
latitude 35° 45' and in longitude 74° 24'. The general
signaled a course to the west-north-west, which led us
towards Chesapeake bay. We again lost a man. On
the 30th, another.

On the first of July the wind was from the north-
east. According to the pilot's observations, we were
in the latitude of Chesapeake bay and we had run
less to the north than we had supposed, which proves
that there are currents. We saw plainly that we had
been deceived in the calculation of our longitudes, for,
according to those which the pilot had given us, we
ought to be in Chesapeake bay, and it seems that we
were still far from it ; for not only were we unable to
see the land, but on sounding we found no bottom.
Another soldier who had the scurvy died.

On the 2d of July, 15 leagues ; we still bore towards
Chesapeake bay. In the evening we were becalmed.

On the 3d, the wind rose. They again sounded
without finding bottom ; we were all very impatient
to see land ; our voyage was beginning to be long, and
we had a great number of sick persons on board. The
scurvy was seizing the whole crew, and even the com-
pany of Grenadiers of Saintonge. We were the more
impatient to arrive as, according to all the observations
of the pilot of the squadron on the longitudes, we
ought to have arrived already. However, these mis-
takes in longitudes are common, and there is no sure
method of rectifying them ; well-regulated chronome-
ters may give some pretty nearly, but this method
has not been sufficiently tried.

Besides, the watches which were on board of the
Duke of Burgundy had not been well regulated on our
departure. I observe also that a squadron which
often lies to, which increases or slackens sail at every
moment, is more likely to be deceived in the reckoning
of its longitudes than a vessel which goes alone and
uniformly ; it may also be that our charts are not
exact, and that New England is improperly put down
upon them.

On the 4th, a sailor died ; we lost one of them the
night before. I learnt it from the surgeon-major with
whom I was intimately acquainted ; for otherwise
these events would not be known in the round house

where we remain, nor even upon deck. A dead man
is thrown into the sea through a port-hole, and no one
sees it except the persons entrusted with the care of
the sick, who are kept in the lowest parts of the ship.
On the same day the pilot gave us only 27 leagues. At
one o'clock we paid out as much as eight knots, which
makes three leagues, less one-third. A small vessel
was discovered which our frigates chased. It dis-
charged its guns two or three times, but after a chase
of two hours it surrendered. Whilst the Amazone
was lashing it, the Surveillante signaled that it had
found bottom at 22 fathoms, which has occasioned
great joy and gave us hope of seeing land to-day. I
am writing this a moment afterwards. The Conquer-
ant has also just sounded ; it found 25 fathoms. The
admiral has made us lie to. We learnt from the Ama-
zone, on board of which we sent, that the prize which
we have just taken was coming from New York and
was going to Charleston ; it was a merchantman laden
with wine ; it confirmed us in the opinion that we
were only eight or nine leagues from shore and from the
entrance of Chesapeake bay. At half after four, we
resumed our course, and at six o'clock we could not be
more than five or six leagues from land. The admi-
ral having perceived some sails in front of us and in
the direction of the land, which was not in sight, and

believing that they were large vessels, he gave the
signal to clear the decks for action and then to tack
about, so that we went away from the land. It was
suspected that the vessels which we saw were those
which Admiral Graves was bringing from Europe, and
among which were some with three decks. We ex-
pected to be pursued and attacked during the night ;
but at daybreak we saw only two vessels which seemed
to be frigates ; one of them bore the English flag ; our
admiral chased them with two frigates. It was about
six o'clock when this chase began ; at ten o'clock the
admiral ordered it to be discontinued, as he perceived
that the vessels in pursuit were not gaining upon the
enemy's vessels. This was unfortunate ; for besides
that they might have afforded us some useful informa-
tion, such a prize would have delighted us; we had to
regret removing from the land, only five or six leagues
distant, in order to go now in search of it at a greater
distance. At three o'clock we lay to in order to col-
lect the convoy, which was scattered. The admiral
restored order. We learnt by the return of the officer
of our ship that the two vessels which had been chased
had been mingled with us during the night and had
even discharged their cannons twice at the Duke of
Burgundy and the Neptune ; it was fortunate that
they had not fastened upon the convoy ; they might

have captured some vessel or at least have damaged
it. According to appearances, their design was to
have themselves chased and to entice one or two of
our vessels into the midst of the English squadron,
which, doubtless, was not so strong as had been sup-
posed, since it did not pursue us. The officers of our
frigates say that they were gaining upon the English
vessels, one of which was of 26 guns and the other
only a corvette of 18 ; they offered in proof that one
of these frigates had itself admitted that we had the
advantage over it, since it had thrown its boat and its
spare maintop mast into the sea, in order to lighten it.
The admiral continued his course towards Rhode Is-
land; yet he said that circumstances might induce
him to proceed to Boston ; he also declared that he
had never intended to enter Chesapeake bay, except
to procure water and to land his sick ; that it had al-
ways been his intention to land the army at Newport
or Boston. This assertion of his was disbelieved by
many ; and he was blamed for having tacked about on
the evening of the 4th, when he perceived some ves-
sels ; we ought to have gone near to ascertain pre-
cisely their number and strength. Not more than
eight had ever been counted, among which there had,
perhaps, been some frigates. If it was too late on that
day, the 4th, when these sails were perceived, we might

have lain to, after coming as near as possible, and have-
rejoined them at daybreak. These reflections did not
escape the crews, thns they were dissatisfied and lost
confidence in their leader ; it -was, therefore, greatly
to be desired that they should land speedily and not
meet the enemy's squadron, and the rather as we had
two hundred and fifty sick.

Note. It is certain that M. de Ternay manoeuvred
very badly on this occasion. I have heard this as-
serted by M. de Cappellis, a very well-informed naval
officer, who w^as attached to the admiral on board of
the Duke of Burgundy. He manoeuvred so much the
worse, as we have learnt that these vessels were only
a convoy, escorted by only two or three ships of war,
and that the frigates which mixed themselves among
us had been sent to take up our time and to draw us
away. They risked them to save the convoy. However,
it has been more to our advantage that we landed in
Rhode Island instead of Chesapeake bay ; it is cooler ;
the air there is much more healthful ; the army and
the squadron recovered there much better and more
rapidly.

On the 6th, at noon, we had made 24 leagues ; we
were in the latitude of 38° and longitude of 75° ; the
wind was favorable, the sea calm. We saw many

sharks and porpoises or blowers ; some were more
than 25 feet long.

On the 7th, 25 leagues. We lost a man. It is sup-
posed that we are not more than 50 leagues from
Newport. The captains of the ships were summoned.
I accompanied M. de la Grandiere and learnt that we
were positively to proceed to Newport and not to Bos-
ton. It had been foggy all day, in the evening it be-
came very thick and the ships could not see each other ;
therefore, that they might not run foul of each other,
cannons and muskets were fired from time to time ;
this fog lasted all night.

On the 8th, in the morning, the fog cleared off, but
we had calms, so that at noon we had made only 12
leagues. Again we lost a sailor. In the afternoon,
the fog reappeared, we did not perceive a single ves-
sel. This fog lasted all night and was accompanied
by thunder. These fogs are very frequent in these
seas and as far as the banks of Newfoundland ; it also
happens that a troubled sea is found there without
there being any wind ; this proceeds from the banks
of sand ; as we approach them that is produced which
is called the accords of a bank, and the sea is always
rough.

At this period and for about a month past, notwith-
standing the bad food, especially the bad water, and

the scurvy, by which Ave were surrounded, I was very
well ; in speaking of the water, I will say that although
it was black and unpleasant to the sight, it had not a
bad taste ; we had drunk some of it which had been
on board for six months.

On the 9th, in the morning, one of our frigates
sounded and found bottom at forty fathoms.

The fog became thicker than it had yet been. At
half after 11, being about three leagues from Block
island, a little island situated four leagues from
Rhode island, the admiral by eight discharges of
cannon, gave a signal for anchoring, which was done.
The wind was cool and the fog very thick ; yet this
manoeuvre was very successful and without accident.
I am writing this a moment afterwards, about noon.
It is very desirable that the fog should cease and that
we should at least be able to land. The condition of
our sick is worse, and a battle ivould not he more mur-
derous than a longer stay at sea. We are in a very
critical moment. Shall we meet the English before land-
ing, and will they have a superior force ? At any rate, it
is to their interest to attack us. Therefore the gene-
ral opinion is that we shall not land without firing a
gun, and perhaps at the moment when we least expect
it. An English squadron may be near us without our
knowing it on account of the fog. How shall ice he re-

celved hy the Americans ? Have they not made their
peace ? or, at least, have not the English seized the
ground to which we expect to proceed ? These are
the questions which we ask each other. I have, there-
fore, reason to say that we are in a critical and truly
interesting situation ; and it is to be regretted that we
have not met with any American vessel ; it is still
more surprising that they have not sent any one to
meet us.

At half after one, the fog began to disperse ; then
the admiral signaled to raise the anchor and to set
sail. We found ourselves very near him and con-
versed with M. de Rochambeau ; he invited M. de
Viomenil to go and talk with him. He did so and, on
his return, told us that M. de Ternay's intention was
to go as near to the land as possible and then, if we
did not meet with the enemy, to land M. de Rocham-
beau and his staff; that, for this purpose, he would go
on board of a frigate and, as soon as he has gone, a
signal will be made on board of the Due de Bourgogne
for M. de Viomenil's going to it with me, that he may
take command of the troops which are not landed, and
that I may receive his orders respecting the business
of my department; M. de Tarle, the directing commis-
sary, is to accompany M. de Rochambeau. At half past
three on the same day we set sail. A minute after-

wards one of the merchantmen which we had captured
signaled the hind. At four o'clock, it was discovered
from the masts of our vessel ; at five o'clock, we all saw
it very distinctly : After a voyage of 69 days, this
was a great joy ; our sick people came out of their
beds, and this sight seemed to restore them to health.
I am writing in the first moment of excitement ; one
should have been at sea, in the midst of the sick and
dying, to feel it thoroughly. What adds to our satis-
faction is that we do not discover a sail, and that, ac-
cording to appearance, we shall land without hindrance,
which is greatly to be desired, I repeat it, for there are
many sick, not only on our vessel but upon all those
of the squadron and of the convoy. On the same day
at about eight o'clock, the admiral made us anchor ;
we were three leagues from the land ; what we saw was
Martha's Vineyard, a little island lying to the north
and twelve leagues from Rhode island. We again lost
two sailors.

On the 10th, at four o'clock in the morning, the ad-
miral caused us to set sail ; towards noon, some pilots
reached us from the neighboring islands. The one
whom we had on board told us that the Americans
were still masters of Rhode Island and that he did
not believe that the English had a greater force than
ours in these seas. This man was from the island of

Martha's Vineyard ; he had come of his own accord to
offer us his services ; he was a good man and displayed
intelligence. He was neither a royalist nor insurgent,
but a friend to everybody, as he told us with much
simplicity. At ten o'clock in the evening, we an-
chored. Another sailor died.

On the 11th, at four o'clock in the morning, we raised
the anchor. At seven o'clock, during foggy weather, a
vessel of the convoy gave a signal of danger; it was
very near the land ; before long, we perceived it our-
selves. The admiral made us anchor, the rather as the
fog was growing thicker ; but it soon dispersed at eight
o'clock ; we saw the land very distinctly, which was
on one side. Point Judith, from wdiich we were only a
league distant, and on the other, Khode island. We
distinguished the shore of Point Judith perfectly well ;
it appeared pleasant to us. But what we saw with
great satisfaction was a French flag placed upon each
of the two shores which were in front of us. This
signal, doubtless agreed upon \vith M. de La Fayette,
who had preceded our squadron, informed us that the
English were not masters of Rhode island, and that
we would be well received there. M. de Rochambeau
and the officers of his staff repaired on board of the
Amazone, which immediately set sail for Newport,
where he arrived before noon. For my part, I went

with M. de Vioinenil on board of the Due de Bour-
gogne, as had been agreed upon.

In the meanwhile, the vessels of the convoy raised
their anchors and also proceeded to Newport. The wind
was light, but having risen at four o'clock, M. de Ternay
caused the ships of war to set sail ; the sea was calm
and everything favored our progress so that we reached
Newport about seven o'clock. The ships anchored pretty
near each other a quarter of a league from the city.
M. de La Touche, a naval lieutenant, the commander
of the frigate Hermione, who had left Rochefort a
month before us, to announce our arrival and to con-
duct M. de La Fayette as well as M. de Corny, came on
board of the Due de Burgogne and confirmed what we
had already learnt from our pilots, that he had had an
engagement a short time before with an English frigate
of equal force, an engagement which had been nearly
equal on both sides, and in which he had 10 men
killed and 37 wounded ; he himself had received a
ball in his arm. The Englishman had lost more men,
but had been less damaged in the rigging.

Note. When M. de La Fayette set out for America,
it was a question whether a commissary should be
given to him, in order to prepare what would be ne-
cessary for our troops. They cast their eyes upon me ;
but I w^as at Nantes, and although it was proposed to

send a courier to me, they calculated that I would not
have twenty-four hours to prepare for my departure.
M. de Corny was then appointed, who did not belong
to the expedition, and who happened to be at Ver-
sailles ; it occasioned great expense and was not of
much assistance. I will speak of it again.

CHAPTER II.

Landbuj at Rhode Idand — T/n-cnfened Attack of an Jinf/Ush
Fleet — EstabUshmeat of tJir llosp/frds — M. 'Bkmcha'rd is
sent to Boston — Rhode Island is placed in a State of De-
fense— Composition of the Army — First Intercourse of the
F-ench Generals with General Washington — Residence at
Providence — Its Environs — Markets for the Armij —
Winter Quarters of the French Forces.

(From July 12tli, 1780 to March 27th, 1781.)

On the VAi\\ of July, 1780, the day after our arrival,
the troops had not yet landed ; there was even an
express prohibition against landing, and I did not ob-
tain permission until four o'clock in the afternoon. I,
therefore, placed my foot upon the earth at Newport.
This city is small, but handsome ; the streets are
straight and the houses, although mostly of wood, of
agreeable shape. In the evening there was an illu-
mination. I entered the house of an inhabitant, who
received me very well ; I took tea there, which was
served by a young lady.

On the lotli, I was at Papisquash on the main
land, twenty leagues from Newport, to examine an
6

establishment which M. de Corny had arranged for
our sick. I stopped at Bristol, a village not far from
Papisquash, and looked for an inn where I might dine ;
but I found nothing there but coffee and badly-raised
bread ; we were obliged to have it toasted to be able
to eat it. I was with M. Demars, the steward of the
hospitals, and M. Corte, the first physician. We were
obliged to pay 12 livres for the passage of a ferry-boat :
they asked 30 of us : we found on our way some pretty
houses ; but the country is generally barren in the
part which we traversed ; there are few trees and they
are not very hardy. From this day, the 13th, our
troops began to disembark.

On the 14th and 15th the troops finished landing
and encamping about half a league from Newport.
We sent some of the sick to Papisquash, and, at the
same time, put some of them in an establishment
hastily formed at Newport. On the 15th, the fri-
gate Hermione, which M. de Ternay sent to cruise
from the instant of our arrival, to go in search of
the Isle of France, one of our transports which
had become separated from us during the fogs of
which I have spoken, returned without having found
it. This transport was conveying 350 men of the
regiment of Bourbonnois, some military stores, and
many efiects belonging to the general officers ; we

were all very uneasy, and I more than any one
else : my brother-in-law, tlie ChevdUer de CorioJis,
an officer of the regiment of Bourbonnois, was on
board of it.^ Nevertheless, we hoped that this ves-
sel might reach Boston, and we impatiently waited
for news of it.

On the 16th, we sent a great number of the sick to
Papisquash. For this purpose, I was in the harbor on
board of several vessels. On the same day I went to
occupy a lodging that was furnished in a very pretty
house ; previously, I had lodged with M. de Tarle ; I
also continued to live with him.

On the 17th, in the morning, I chanced to enter a
school. The master seemed to me a very worth}'-
man ; he was teaching some children of both sexes ;
all were neatly clad ; the room in which the school
was kept was also very clean. [ saw the writing of
these children, it appeared to me to be handsome,
among others, that of a young girl 9 or 10 years old,
very pretty and very modest and such as I would like
my own daughter to be, when she is as old ; she was
called Abigail Earl, as I perceived upon her copy-book,
on which her name was written. I wrote it myself, add-
ing to it " very pretty."^ This school had really in-

' Batistaine de Coriolis.

- These two words are in English in the oriojinal.

terested me, and the master had not the air of a mis-
sionarj^ but the tone of the father of a family.

On the 18th, I visited, in company with M. de
Rochambeau, an Anabaptist temple,^ where we esta-
blished a hospital.

On the 19th, I was at Papisquash, where there were
already 280 sick persons ; but they were far from being
provided with everything that was necessary for them ;
fortunately, they were in a pretty good air. Papis-
quash forms a kind of landscape surrounded by trees.
The commonest are acacias, pear-trees and cherry-
trees ; the ground is sown with flax and maize, with
a little barley and rye. Besides, our sick who had
the scurvy began to recover ; vegetables were furnished
them and the physician allowed them to eat cherries.
We lived on good terms with the inhabitants of this
neighborhood. They are affable, well clad, very
cleanly and all tall. The women enjoy the same ad-
vantages, have fair skins and are generally pretty.
They all have oxen and cows, at least as handsome as
those of our Poitou ; their cows are not stabled and
pass the night in the fields ; they give much milk.

On the 20th I returned to Newport ; I there learnt
that the Isle of France had put into port at Boston,

1 Protestant churches are called temples in France.

which was very good news for me, as for everyone
else.

On the 21st, after having dined with the Baron de
Viomenil, as we were at the quarters of General de
Kochambeau, who was holding a council, we were in-
formed that several vessels were perceived steerhig for
Newport ; it was four o'clock ; he immediately mounted
his horse and caused several batteries to be estabHslied
upon the shore. M. de Ternay, for his part, made
some arrangements. The vessels that were discovered
were lying to at nightfall. I also mounted on horse-
back and saw them very plainly ; I counted nineteen
of them.

On the 22d, the same vessels still appeared, they
cruised all day ; it was not likely that they would at-
tempt to enter Newport. M. de Rochambeau, with
whom I dined that day, said publicly that he wished
that the English would attempt it. At this dinner
were several Americans, all good patriots, and also an
English officer, who was a prisoner. They addressed
some sharp words to each other; which proves how
earnest both parties were.

On the 23d, we still saw the English ; there were
eleven large vessels, the rest were frigates or trans-
ports. M. de Rochambeau came to hear mass at the
hospital and to visit the sick ; we had 400 of them at

Newport and 280 at Papisquash ; the detachment of
the regiment of Bourbonnois, which had landed at
Boston, also had a hundred of them, so that we had
about 800 sick out of a body of troops amounting to
5000 men ; for I speak only of the sick among the land
forces. The navy had its own in its own hospitals.
The royal regiment of Deux- Fonts had 300 of them ; it
appears that the Germans feel the heat more and are
more subject to the scurvy than the French. All
these maladies had begun to manifest themselves when
we were in the latitude of 27°. There is reason to be-
lieve that we shall save many of them ; the air of
Rhode Island is good ; it is hot there, but only in the
middle of the day ; for the mornings and evenings are
cool without being damp. I have not been able to as-
certain positively the degree of heat, not having a
thermometer. At present, the temperature seems to
me to be the same as that of the island of Corsica, 24°
on an average.

On the 24th, the detachment of the regiment of
Bourbonnois, which had landed at Boston, arrived at
Newport. I saw my brother-in-law, to whom I gave
a dinner the next day.

On the 25th, it was decided that I should go to Bos-
ton to introduce a little order into the hospital which
had been hastily established there to receive the sick

who had been landed from the Isle of France. In the
evening the Count de Rochambeau sent nie some
letters to carry to the captain of a French vessel which
was at Boston, and which was expected to sail imme-
diately. The general sent for me again and pretty
late, since I had gone to bed. I went to him ; he
asked me to start on horseback the next day, as early
as possible (I was to go in a coach with M. de Capellis,
a naval officer) and he gave me some letters for the
Boston committee, to persuade them to order the pro-
vincial troops under their command to repair to New-
port as quickly as possible. In fact, he had just been
informed by General Washington that the English
intended to attack us at Rhode Island. M. de Roch-
ambeau told me what to add on my own account, in
order to supplement what he had not been able to say
in the dispatch, in order to make them feel the need
of this assistance.

On the 26th, at five o'clocl^ in the morning, I
mounted my horse, accompanied by a dragoon in the
American service, a Saxon who had come to America
with the Hessian troops in the pay of England. He
spoke English, with which I was as yet unacquainted,
but fortunately Latin also and very well, so that we
were able to converse ; it is the first time that Latin
has been of use to me in this way. I explained my

ideas in Latin to this dragoon, and, by translating
them into English, he served as my interpreter with
the people of the country. At noon, we were at
Providence, a city of the same importance as Newport
and more commercial ; it has good anchorage and a
very convenient port, suitable for trade. I got down
at the house of sonic French merchants, to which
one of their clerks whom I met on the road conducted
me, and I dined with them. M. Lyon, one of these
merchants, whose main house was at Boston, gave me
a letter to his partner, M. Adolph, who had remained
there. My horse being tired, they procured me a
small carriage drawn by a horse which I drove myself.
I set out at five o'clock, still accompanied by my dra-
goon ; at eleven o'clock in the evening we were only
five leagues from Boston ; but we were obliged to lie
at an inn. On the road and when night had arrived,
as we were passing through a wood, I gave free course
to my thoughts. I was 1500 leagues from my own
country, accompanied by a man who had come him-
self a still greater distance ; a strange destiny placed
us beside each other for a moment.

On the 27th, I set out for Boston and arrived there
at nine o'clock. I got down at M. Adolph's, who re-
ceived me very well and offered me a room which I
accepted. I had myself taken immediately to the

house of Mr. Bowdoiii,^ the president of the Boston
committee, to whom I handed M. de Rocliambeau's
letter and another which had been entrusted to me by
M. de Corny, who was acquainted with him and liad
been very intimate with him when he was in Boston.
I had a Frenchman with me, as an interpreter, called
the Chevalier de Luz, who called himself an officer.
Mr. Bowdoin caused the committee to be assembled,
agreeably to the general's letter ; and in the evening
he sent me an answer which I immediately forwarded
to M. de Rochambeau ; it was favorable and orders
had been given for the militia to repair innnediately
to Rhode Island. On the 28th, I s;iw Mr. Bowdoin
again, in company with M. de Capellis, who had ar-
rived. He invited us to come in the evening to take
tea at his house. We went there ; the tea was served
by his daughter, Mrs. Temple, a loeautiful woman,
whose husband was a tory, that is to say opposed to
the revolution ; he had even left America and gone to
England. Mr. Bowdoin has a very handsome house ;
he is a wealthy man and respected in his country ; he
is descended from a French refugee and his name pro-
claims it. He received us politely and had a very
noble bearing. I ought not to forget that he told me
that I resembled Franklin when he was youno-. On

' Sj)elt Beaudom in tlu' original.

the same day we went to Mr. Hancock's, but he was
sick and we were not able to see him. This Mr. Han-
cock^ is one of the authors of the revolution, as also is
the doctor with whom we breakfasted on the 29th : he
is a minister who seemed to me to be a man of intelli-
gence, eloquent and enthusiastic. ~ He has much in-
fluence over the inhabitants of Boston who are devout
and Presbyterians, imbued, generally, with the principles
of Cromwell's partisans, from whom they are descended.
Therefore, they are more attached to independence
than any other class of people in America ; and it was
they who began the revolution.

During my stay in Boston, I dined at the house of
a young American lady, where M. de Capellis lodged.
At Newport we had seen her sister and her brother-in-
law, Mr. Carter, an Anglo-American, who had come
to supply provisions to our army. It is a great contrast
to our manners to see a young lady (she was twenty,
at the most) lodging and entertaining a young man.
I shall certainly have occasion to explain the causes
of this singularity.

The city of Boston seemed to me as large as Orleans,
not so broad, perhaps, but longer. It is, Ukewise, well-
built and displays an indescribable cleanliness which

I Si»elt Aiu'ouke in tlie original.
-The Rev. Dr. CVtuper.

is pleasing ; most of the liouses are of wood ; some are
of stone and brick. The people seemed to Ije in easy cir-
cumstances. Nevertheless the shops were poorly stocked
with goods, and everything was very dear, which re-
sulted from the war. Their bookstores had hardly
anything but prayer-books ; an English and French
dictionary cost me eight louis d or. I saw on the signs
of two shops the name of Blanchard, written like my
own, one Caleb Blanchard, the other, John.

In general, we were very well received by the Bos-
tonians, we exhibited much interest in them and made
them understand how much the king felt for them ;
we mentioned a speech of his to them, on this sub-
ject ; he said to the Count of Rochambeau who was
taking leave of him that he recommended the Ame-
ricans to him, adding, " These are my real allies ; "
which, doubtless, meant that it was Louis XVI himself
who had made a treaty of alliance with them, whilst
the treaties with other allies dated from previous reigns.
Ought I to mention that M. de Volnais, the consul of
France, having taken me in his coach along with M.
de Capellis, overturned us at the corner of a sloping
street ? It was a very high and open carriage, a kind
of whisky, so that we were thrown upon the pavement
and to a considerable distance. Fortunately we were
not in the least hurt, excepting the consul, who fell

upon a wound which he had received a short time
before, whilst fighting a duel with another Frenchman ;
for he was a manslayer, my fate being to meet them
everywhere. This one was a good fellow, but not very
well adapted for the post which he filled.

M. de Capellis and I left Boston on the oOth and
slept at Providence, which is distant 45 miles, that is
to say, about fifteen leagues. The road is pleasant,
we passed through some woods, where there are some
pretty handsome oaks. They appeared to me to be
of a different species from ours ; their leaf is larger and
the bark is not so smooth. We find also some pretty
handsome villages, and, as it was Sunday, we continu-
ally met people who were going to the temple or re-
turning from it, most of them in light carriages, drawn
by a single horse. There are few inhabitants in this
part of the country who do not own one, for, without
being rich, they are in easy circumstances. They
cultivate the earth themselves, with the help of some
negroes ; but these estates belong to them aaid they
are owners. We also met some provincial soldiers,
who, in obedience to the orders that the Boston com-
mittee had sent to them, were repairing in crowds to
Newport, where, in less than three days, there would
have been more than four thousjind of them, if there
had not been a counterm.and, upon the information
which we received that we would not be attacked.

On the 31st, we started for Newport, where we ar-
rived on the same day. There were ten good leagues
and a ferry sometimes difficult to cross. We found
that they were at work over the whole island in restor-
ing the old redoubts made by the English and in making
new ones. At this work the American militia were
employed, a part of whom had been retained; our
troops worked on them, for their part, so that they
were in a condition to give a warm reception to the
English, who had committed a great fault in not at-
tacking us as soon as they appeared ; then, whatever M.
de Rochambeau said, who, nevertheless, did very well
to appear secure, they might have done us much mis-
chief; nothing was ready, few of the cannon were as
yet in battery, our soldiers were sick or tired and almost
all of the sailors on shore. But, in fifteen days, they
had had time to recover and to make good arrange-
ments as well for our vessels as for the land forces.

I have been very busy during the first days of Au-
gust ; moreover, I do not perceive any observations that
appear to me to be worth mentioning, until this day,
August the loth. Since the 1st, we have remained
very quiet in our island of Rhode Island. The Eng-
lish ships have appeared and disappeared ; it has been
said by turns that they would attack us and that they
would not attack us ; the two admirals, French and

English, have sent flags of truce to each other. Be-
sides, we have continued to put the island in a con-
dition of defense, with the assistance of some American
troops. To-day, the loth, there was a council of ad-
ministration at M. de Rochambeau's, composed of the
general officers and the commissaries. I had a very
lively scene with the steward^ respecting a purchase of
meat which we have passed for the hospitals, which
he had at first rejected, although he has made one
subsequently for the whole army at a much higher
price than that for the hospital. Our dispute arose
from his having asserted that either M. Demars or I
had reported that he had refused to accept an advan-
tageous bargain, and that this was injurious to his re-
putation. I repeated it in every particular and
answered him with a coolness and vigor of which I
did not believe myself capable. The Messrs. de
Viomenil, who are friendly to me, consider that I was
not gentle enough towards the steward. M. de Ro-
chambeau said nothing to me about it, but I perceived
that he disapproved of my conduct. The next day I
went to Papisquash with M. de Beville, quarter-mas-
ter general of the army. I saw M. de Tarle before
my departure ; we spoke to each other coolly, but with-
out any explanations. On my return, I was at the

1 M. de Tarle.

quarters of M. de Rochambeau, who behaved to me as
usual. But the Baron de Viomenil insisted on recon-
ciling me with the steward ; he had the kindness to
take me to his house: [we embraced and all was said ;^]
but I am afraid that this scene will be repeated, the
said gentleman having ways of doing business utterly
opposed to mine. He is cold, methodical, hard to
please in matters of business and not very enlightened :
besides he is haughty and certainly has a cold heart.^

On Thursday the ITtli, I went to Providence with
M. Demars. I have already spoken of this city which
I prefer to Newport ; it seems more lively, more ad-
dicted to commerce, more sui?|^)lies are to be found there.
We there established a very considerable hospital in a
very handsome house, formerly occupied as a college.

On the 18th, after having attended to this establish-
ment, I paid some visits in the city, first to Mr. Var-
num ; he had been made the commander-in-chief of

^(Ai)i)areiitly l>y :i lifter liaiid.) Tliey embi-ac-cMl (.'usily in
those (lays. This fasliioii lias passed away.

-All tliat was tnic, and the steward, in tliis iiistanee, was cer-
tainly the first in the wi-oiig ; hut on my part, 1 was too warm ;
I ought, either l>y great moderation or hy some jests, to Iiave
l)Ut the langliers on my side, whereas my warmth was hlameiL
I have often reproached myself foi- this scene, and I reproacli
myself forit still more strongly to day (2d year of the ri'pidilic).
It certainly excited ])rejndice against me.

the militia of the country and had been styled gene-
ral. I then went to Mr. Hancock's whom I have
already mentioned ; he has come to Providence on
account of business ; I was very well received by them.

On the 19th, General Varnum took me two miles
from the city to a sort of garden where different per-
sons had met and were playing nine-pins ; they made
us drink punch and tea. The place was pleasant and
rural, and this little jaunt gave me pleasure. I was
beginning to speak some English words and was able
to converse. Besides, General Varnum spoke Latin.
On the 2Uth, I dined at the house of the said general
with his wife and his sister-in-law ; after dinner some
young ladies came who seemed well disposed to con-
verse and to become acquainted with us. They were
very handsomely dressed.

In the evening, M. Gau, commandant of artillery,
who arrived from Boston, informed me that the Alli-
ance, an American frigate, had just arrived. It had
left Lorient on the 9th of July. The captain, named
Landais, born a Fi'enchman, had left Lorient without
waiting for the king's despatches. He wished to cruise,
although laden with powder which he was ordered to
bring straight to Boston ; his crew, tired of his follies
and his vexations, had shut him up in his cabin and
had given the command of the frigate to his mate.

On board were two French officers, aides-de-camp of
M. de la Fayette, and Mr. Lee, who had been a long
time in France, a deputy of the congress; they told us
that on the Dth of July the body of troops which they
were to send to usand which they called the second
division had not yet started. Besides this, they gave us
no very certain news respecting the affairs of Europe.

On the 19th, I was about two miles from Providence
uith the health officers of the hospital to examine
some waters which were said to be mineral ; but we
found nothing in them but a little more coolness than
in the water which we use every day. This fountain
is situated in a rural and prett}' agreealjle spot and
quite near to a little wood which, by its shape, the
way in which the trees were situated, their size, etc.,
reminded me of that which is opposite to Les GniUieres}
To-day the wind blew from the north and we were cold.
This sudden change from cold to warmth causes colics ;
my servant Bourdais had a very violent one, a kind
of cholera-morbus, which made me fear ior his life.

On the 22d, I returned to Newport. I dined mid-
way at Warren, in a pretty handsome inn. Not far
from there there was a salt-work which I went to see.
On the following days we had some councils of ad-
ministration, which passed off pretty well.

' .V cliateau in tlie neighborhood of Angers (eomninne of
Saiut Sylvain), which then belonged to M. Blanchard.

I have given a list of the officers with whom I
had embarked upon the Conquerant. Here now are
the principal persons composing our armj^

M. the Count de Rochambeau, commander-in-chief,
lieutenant general.

The Baron de Viomenil, \

The Count de Viomenil, > major-generals.

The Chevalier de Chastellux, )

The latter discharging the functions of major-gen-
eral.

De Beville, quarter-master general.

Tarle, directing commissary, discharging the func-
tions of steward.

Blanchard, chief commissary.

Corny, commissary. (We found him in America :
he set out for France in the early part of February,
1781.)

Villemanzy, commissary.

Gau, commissary of artillerj^

D'Aboville, commandant-in-chief of the artillery.

Nadal, director of the park.

Lazie, major " " "

Tucrenet.

Note fi-oin the originu]. De Clioisy did not arrive until the
80th of Septend)er ; he had with him the Messrs. Berthier, who
entered the staff. One of them was afterwards mareelial under
Napoleon,

Ch^ D'OgT(^.
Caravagne.
H. Opterre.
Turpin.

Coste, chief physician.
Robillard, chief surgeon.

Daure, steward of provisions.

Demars, steward of the hospitals.

There were also some other stewards for forage, for
meat, etc ; in general, too many employees, especially
among the principals ; all that was according to the
taste of M. Yeymeranges, who had arranged the com-
position of our army as to the administration, an in-
telligent man, but inclined to expense and luxury and
whom it was necessary to watch.

Bouley, treasurer.

Messrs. de Menonville and the Chevalier de Tarle,
the brother of the steward, were adjutant generals.

Messrs. de Beville Jr. and CoUot were quartermaster
generals.

M. de Rochambeau's aides-de-camp were Messrs. de
Ferry, de Damas, Charles Lameth, Clo.sen, Dumas,
Lauberdiere and de Yauban.

M. Cromot-Diibourg who arrived a short time after
us, was also an aide-de-camp to this general.

The Messrs. de Viomenil also had several of them,
among whom were Messrs. de Chabannes, de Pange, d'
Olonne, etc.

Those of M. de Chastellux were, Montesquieu (grand-
son of the president) and Lynch, an Irishman.
Colonels.
Regiment of Bourbounois.
The Marquis de Laval.
The Viscount de Rochambeau, in 2d.

Royal Deux Fonts.
Messrs. De Deux Fonts, brothers.

Sahitonije.
M. Custine.
The Viscount de Charlus (son of M. de Castries).

Soissonnols.
M. de Saint Mesme.
The Viscount de Noailles.

Lauzwis Legion .
The Duke de Lauzun.
M. de Dillon.

It is known that M. de La Fayette was not attached
to our army, any more than M. Du Fortail ; they
served with the American troops. We had in our

army two officers who had served among the Ameri-
cans with distinction, M. Fleury, major of Saintonge,
and Mandait. adjutant of the artillery.

On the 29th, a score of savages arrived at Newport;
part of them were Iroquois. Some others came from
a village called the Fall of St. Louis (situated in the
environs of Albany), which is Catholic, as they asked
to hear mass, on arriving. Among them was a mu-
hatto, who had served with the Americans ; he spoke
French and they called him Captain Louis. There
was also a German who had lived among them since
he was twelve years old. The only clothing which
these savages had was a blanket in which they wrapped
themselves ; they had no breeches. Their complexion
is olive, they have their ears gashed and their faces
daubed with red. There were some handsome men
among them and some tall old men of respectable ap-
pearance. We also remarked two young persons at
least five feet ten inches high, and one of them with
a very agreeable physiognomy ; some of them, never-
theless, were small. These savages, for a long time
friendly to the French and who, in speaking of the
king of France, called him our father, complimented
M. de Rochambeau, who received them very kindly
and gave them some presents, among otlier things
some red blankets which had been greatly recom-

mended to us at our departure from Brest. He told
them that many of their neighbors, deceived by the
English, had made war upon the Americans, who, they
had told them, were our enemies, that, on the contrary,
they were our friends and that we came to defend them,
and that they would pursue a course of conduct agree-
able to their fither if they would act in the same
way and make war upon the English ; he urged them
to remember this discourse well and to repeat it to
their neighbors. They dined that day with him at
his quarters. I saw them at table for an instant, they
behaved themselves well there and ate cleanly enough.
In the afternoon the troops v\^ere shown to them, w4io
manoeuvred and went through the firing exercise ;
they showed no surprise, but seemed to be pleased with
this exhibition. On the next da}' they dined on board
of the Due de Bourgogne, In the evening they were
persuaded to dance ; their singing is monotonous, they
interrupted it with sharp and disagreeable cries. In
singing, they beat time with two little bits oi wood.
In dancing, they content themselves with bending the
hams without taking any steps; there is no jumping,
no springing; they reminded me of those peasants in
my province when they tread the grapes in the wine-
press ; the movement which they then make resem-
bles the dance of these savages. They went away on

the second of September. Some other tribes of Catholic
savages had asked us for a priest; we sent them a
Capuchin who was chaphiin ol" one of the vessels.

September, 1780. We perceived after the early part
of this month that the heat had considerably abated.
I caused a fire to be lit on the second of September,
in the evening, and I was not the only one ; we began
to have fogs and heavy rains. On the Gth, the Vis-
count de Noailles and M. de Dillon fought ; the cause
of the quarrel does not deserve to be mentioned.

On the 7th, I dined on board of the Conquerant,
where I had not appeared since our arrival ; I was
very kindly received there.

On the 8th, there was a very great rain in the
morning; in the afternoon the weather improved.
We then had about five hundred sick, and among
them a great number attacked by dysentery, this
disease has been prevalent lor fifteen days without
appearing to be dangerous.

From the 9th, to the lltli, fine weather, and even
warm. On the 11th, there was a council of adminis-
tration. The tone which prevailed at it w^as not
pleasant. I preserved profound silence at it.

On the 12th, I was at Providence with M. Corte,
the chief physician ; it was cloudy and we had rain.
In the afternoon, w^e observed a plant which is very

common in the country. The botanists call it Race-
miis Ainencana ; in France, it is found only in the
gardens of ihe botanists. We saw no other peculiar
plant anywhere else, but much wild chickory and
sorrel thorn.

I found our hospital at Providence in very good
order; we had then 340 sick there, and we had a few
more than 200 at Newport, which made the sick
amount to a tenth part of the army.

On the loth, it was warm in the morning, but there
was rain in the evening and during the night. To-
day I walked much through the city ; I especially
visited the temple which is pretty large, although
built of wood; it is very clean, i also ascended the
steeple, which, like all of them in America, is over-
loaded with carvings and ornaments, painted with
different colors ; it is likewise entirely of wood.

On the 14th, we had rain until nine in the morn-
ing ; the remainder of the day was clear. I profited
by it to walk alone in the woods and upon the hills
with which the city of Providence is surrounded ;
these solitary walks have always been agreeable to me.

On the 15th, rain in the morning, line weather in
the afternoon.^

I I often make tliese reiuarks al)out tlie weather, tlie rain, the
heat and the eohl, wliicli sei've to make tlie climate of a conntry

This same clay, the loth, I was invited to a party
in the country to which I went. It was a sort of
pic-nic given by a score of men to a company of
ladies. The purpose of this party was to eat a turtle,
weighing three or four hundred pounds, which an
American vessel had just brought from one of our
islands. This meat did not seem to me to be very
palatable ; it is true that it was badly cooked. There
were some quite handsome women ; before dinner
they kept themselves in a different room from the men,
they also placed themselves at table all on the same
side, and the men, on the other. They danced after
dinner to the music of some instruments of Lauzun's
legion, which had been brought there expressly.
Neither the men nor the ^vomen dance well ; all stretch
out and lengthen their arms in a way far from agreeable.
I found myself at table very near a captain of an
American frigate, whom I had seen at Nantes. I per-
ceived to-day whilst trying to converse with the ladies,
that I still was very little accustomed to the English
lano;Liao;e. Durino- dinner we drank different healths,

knoM-n. Siiict' my rctiini to Fi-:im-c li:i\iiiL:,- seen sonu' per-
sons wlio wisliL'd to [irocL'i'd t(» AiiK-ru-i, I liavr coiiuiuinicatL^d
tliese notes to them, ami tliey ha\i' told me that tliey ha\e de-
rived more profit from tliem tlian from vauue descri})tions, often
embellished or exaggei-ated.
9

as is usual, we to those of the Americans, and they
to the health of the king of France. This extended
to everybody ; for on passing through an anteroom,
where some negro servants were drinking, I heard
them drinking together the health of the king of
France.

On the 18th, M. de Rochambeau and the Chevalier
de Ternay started for Hartford, in Connecticut, whither
General Washington was to repair on his side for the
purpose of concerting together, for it was time for them
to think of making some use of our troops, who had
required some indulgence on their arrival but ought
not to remain useless forever.

On the 19th, we learnt that Admiral Rodney, who
had been for a long time in the West Indies, had just
appeared upon the coasts of America. This news sur-
prised us and made us uneasy. We did not know
whether he was followed by M. de Guichen, who had
been a long while at sea. Rodney joined to Arbuthnot,
ought to have about 24 vessels, most of them of three
decks, and, consequently, he had a force greatly su-
perior to ours. However, they prepared, as well on
the part of the navy as of the land forces, to repel the
enemy. That day we had a council of administration
at the quarters of M. the Baron de Viomenil, which
went oft' very well.

On the 20th and 21st, they continued to make ar-
rangements for putting themselves in a state of defense.
I went over the ishind to ascertain if there were not
some pieces of ground suitable for pastures for the
horses, for whom we feared that we should be in want
of forage ; I continued my search on the 22d, Saint
Maurice's day (the patron of the Cathedral of Angers) .

On the 23d our preparations for defense in case of
attack were continued with success ; and the longer
the English delayed, the more difficult the attack be-
came for them. It was fine weather and even very
warm.

On the 24th, our military and naval generals arrived.
They had had an interview with General Washington,
from whom they returned enchanted : an easy and
noble bearing, extensive and correct views, the art of
making himself beloved, these are what all who saw
him observed in him. It is his merit which has de-
fended the liberty of America, and if she enjoys it one
day, it is to him alone that she will be indebted for it.^

Nothing new until the 30th. This day, the frigate
La GentiUe, coming from the cape, arrived at New-

I " I wrote this in 1780. The event lias sliow n liow i-iulit I was :
It is to 3Ir. Washington's t-onrage, to his love for his countiy
and to his ])ru<lence that the Anierieans owt.^ their sncct'ss. Tie
lias never lieen inconsistent, never disconrageil. Amidst suc--
cess as amidst reverses, he was always calm, always the same ;

port; it brought M. de Choisy and some other officers
appointed to our army ; they had left France on the
25th of June on a frigate which proceeded to Cape
Saint Domingo, where they reembarked for Newport.
They informed us that Monsieur de Guichen had re-
turned to Europe with a considerable convoy, and that
he had left Monsieur de Guichen ^ with only ten ves-
sels.

On the same day we learnt the infamous plot and
treason of Arnold, an American general. It was dis-
covered because M. Andre, major-general of Clinton's
army, with whom Arnold was in correspondence and
who had come to the American arm}-, was captured. Ar-
nold, who knew it, immediately went to New York ;
his project was to deliver West Point, an important
post upon the North river, and the loss of which
would have interruj^ted the communication between
the northern provinces and those of the south. Up to
this time this Arnold had behaved like a hero, and had
made a body of 6000 Englishmen lay down their arms.
October, 1780. On the 1st of October, M. de La
Luzerne, the minister plenipotentiary of France to

aiul his jiersonal (jualities liave doiu' iiioiv to kc-ep soldiers in tlie
American army and to procure partisans to tlie cause of liherty
than the decrees of the congress." — JSTotc from the MS.

' This repetition of the name appears to he a slip of the pen.

Philadelphia, arrived at Newport to see M. de Ro-
chambeau ; he had stopped at (General Washington's
camp, with whom he might have been captured, if
the plot which I have just nientioned had not been
discovered ; in the evening there was a council of ad-
ministration at which M. de La Luzerne was present.

On the 2d, there was a feint of a descent; it was
very fine weather, even warm, although the mornings
and evenings were cold, sufficiently so to require a
fire. I had not until this day some letters from
France, l^rought for me by the frigate La GentiUe. It
is the first time in five months that I had news of my
family, having started on the second of May. My
brother informed me of the death of my nephew Ro-
main, ^ a naval guard, who had gone to sea. I great-
ly regretted this J'oung man, of a fine figure, and who
gave promise of talents.

I also learnt that a vessel, fitted out at Brest by M.
Gaudelet, laden with provisions and merchandise,
which could have been disposed of to the advantage
of our army, had arrived at the cape (Saint Domingo),
and, for want of an escort, was unable to reach
Newport ; it is a pity, the merchandise would have
brought three hundred per cent.

' Tlie Count <k' Uomaiu, tlu' brotlu'i- of thi> young )u:in, wa
a fellow-student of Xapoleon at La Fere.

On the 3d, I again received letters which had been
left on board of the frigate and forgotten. One of
them was from my wife, dated the 7th of May, written
only five days after our departure. It gave me plea-
sure none the less.

On the 4th and 5th, cold, wind and rain.

On the 7tli, another pretended attack, when the
American troops played their part and manoeuvred
very well. Ice was seen for the first time. In the
evening a kind of tempest occasioned damage to the
merchantmen in port and overturned a large number
of tents in camp.

On the 8 til, M. de Tarle, with whom I was living,
gave a dinner to M. de La Luzerne and the generals.

Nothing remarkable on the subsequent days.

We learnt that Andre, that English officer, who had
disguised himself to communicate with the traitor,
Arnold, and who had been captured by the Americans,
had been put to death. General Washington having
treated him as a spy.

On the 14th, M. Holker, the consul of France at
Philadelphia, a man of intelligence and great ability,
arrived at Newport. A council of administration was
held, in which it was resolved that I should proceed
to Providence, to try to procure wood for the army,
which began to be in want of it. There was none

upon the island of Rhode Island, where the Enghsh,
who had occupied it for some time, had destroyed all.
On the 15th, I started for Providence, as had been
ordered, but having commenced my journey late, I lay
at Warren and did not reach Providence until the
next day. I was at Patuxet on the same day, a vil-
lage a league from Providence. Then I went through
a neighboring forest, where there were some portions
of wood for cutting, which they proposed to us to have
cut. This forest was pleasant ; not very far from the
place where they proposed to us to cut is a pond
which reminded me of a similar site in the vicinitj^ of
Nantes. On the 17th, I returned to the forest ; it
was very cold, with a clear sky and sunshine. During
the succeeding days I continued to be employed about
my cutting, and I succeeded in making a bargain with
Mr. Harris, the owner of these woods. I attended
also to the means of collecting forage, which was not
easy at that season. They set about it too late. Be-
sides, the Americans are slow and do not decide
promptly in matters of business. It is not easy for us
to rely upon their promises. They love money and
hard monej' ; it is thus that they designate specie to
distinguish it from paper money, which loses prodi-
giously. This loss varies according to circumstances
and according to the provinces. Whilst I am writing,

at Providence and Newport it loses sixty for one ; that is
to say, a silver piaster is worth sixty paper piasters.
Bills of exchange upon France, even that of the trea-
surer of the army upon the treasurer-general at Paris,
lose 25 per cent at Philadelphia, as well as at Boston,
owing to the scarcity of silver. The Americans at
present owe much money in France, and they ought
easily to find bills of exchange to pay it.^ I speak of
this paper money because we were beginning to make
use of it in our army to pay some daily expenses, but
only to the people of the country ; we should have
begun with it to spare our ready money, with which,
unfortunately, our chest was not well supplied.

We were unable to make use of this paper money
long, because it fell completely, and no human power
could have been able to raise it a^ain.

On the 20th and 21st, alternationsof cold and heat.
At present, there are not more than three hundred
sick, many of whom are suftering from the remains of
the scurvy. I have also mentioned the dysenteries
which began to prevail a month ago, but they have
not proved fatal. I cannot avoid remarking that this
disease, which made so much havoc in France in 1779,
and especially in Brittany and Normandy, was equally

' Tliey were not tlieii in a condition to ])ay, or eltse they did
not care about it.

fatal in this part of America in which we are dw^elling ;
it is singular enough that an epidemical complaint
should be prevalent at the same time in places so dis-
tant and separated by the sea.

On the 22d and 23d, fine weather. Three good
English prizes, captured by an American privateer.
The news was then circulated of the capture of Jamaica
and of a considerable fleet belonging to the English
and on its way to the Indies.

On the 24th, I took into the forest where I had
bought wood, fifty soldiers who had been sent to me
to cut it. The next day 1 went to see them at work ;
this business interested me. I love the woods. I was,
in some sort, alone, far from the world. I mounted a
horse and led the life of a man upon his estate.

On the 26th, I again returned to see my laborers,
in the most beautiful weather. Mr. Harris, wdiom I
met, showed me an orchard, in which he said that his
father had been killed by the savages, which proves
that it w^as not a great while ago when they were in
these districts. Patuxet and Papisquash, villages and
hamlets of which I have spoken, are Indian names
that have been preserved.

On the 27th, in the morning, a thick fog, which
dissipated at the moment of an eclipse of the sun.
1(1

At 11 o'clock it was very visible, and between noon
and one o'clock it was considerable enough to darken
the air. It seemed to me that it also became night
some minutes after sunset. M. de Gachain, major of
the squadron, took advantage of this eclipse to make
some observations upon the latitude and the longitude
of the coasts of Rhode Island. Ke sent them to the
Academy of Philadelphia ; he also observes that these
points are exactly marked upon the map. Upon con-
sulting an American almanac which mentioned this
eclipse, I happened to cast my eyes upon the list of
the princes of Europe. I read of Louis XVI, " Whom
God preserve ;" the same invocation upon the king of
Spain ; but respecting the king of England, " the san-
guinary tyrant " and some words besides, the meaning
of which is, born to dismember the British empire
and make America independent.

I returned to Newport on the I^Sth ; I learnt that
our three frigates were gone. TheAinazoue returned to
France. It had M. de Rochambeau's son on board
and carried our letters.

November, 1780. On the first, rain, wind and snow.
The regiment of Bourbonnois had left the camp the
night before and had come to take up its quarters in the
city ; the other regiments came thither in succession,
that is to say, they took up their winter quarters, and

it appeared settled that our troops would make no
movement before the spring.

From the 2d to the 6th, I remained at Providence,
in cold weather ; but the sun shone and 1 did not
cease to ride on horseback and go to see my laborers
in the wood. I also had much to do for Lauzun's
legion, which was to proceed to Connecticut to take
up its winter quarters, and which passed through
Providence. All these details, elsewhere very easy,
nevertheless met with many difficulties among the
Americans, who dislike to lodge troops and who, as I
have already mentioned, are slow and even mistrustful.

For some days past mention was made of an advan-
tage gained over the English in Carolina, by General
Smallwood ; it was said that he had captured about
1500 men.

On the 9th, much snow fell and it was very cold, as
was the next day. Lauzun's legion arrived at Provi-
dence to-day; it found everything that it needed.
The Duke de Lauzun gave a ball, at which I was
present for a moment.

On the 1 1 th, the legion remained, the cold continued,
but it was fine weather and the sun slione. I dined
with M. de Lauzun.

On the 12th, the legion departed. The Chevalier
de Chastellux arrived in the morning ; he was on his

way to General Washington's camp and thence to
Philadelphia. I gave him a dinner and we paid some
visits together. In conversing with him respecting the
steward, whom he did not like and of whom he spoke
ill to me, I remarked to him how disagreeable it was
to our cloth and especially to me to have so mediocre
an administrator for chief. He replied to me that
when one was more than thirty, it was better for him
to be the assistant of a fool than of a man of sense.
He departed the next day. The ground was covered
with snow.

On the 14th, a great rain. The 15th, clear and
cold : it is said that the traitor Arnold has landed in
Virginia with five thousand men.

On the 16th, fog and rain. M. Beaudouin, a lieuten-
ant-colonel of Lauzun's legion, passed through Provi-
dence to go to and embark at Boston and return to
France. I gave him some letters. I go regularly
every day to the forest where they are busy about the
wood.

On the 17th, cloudy weather, rain aiid very violent
wind from the north-east.

On the 18th the same weather. Messrs. de Laval,
de Custine and De Deux Ponts, who were going to
travel in the interior of America, passed through
Providence.

On the 20th and 21st, clear and cold. It is to be
observed that usually after one or two days of drv
cold, snow and rain follow. The same alternation in
the succeeding days.

I already had much wood cut and corded ; but it
w^as necessary to transport it to the seaboard, where
the ves.sels of the squadron had just come in search of
it. For that purpose, I hired vehicles, but I had great
difficulty in starting them. On the 2'Zd I could not
procure a single one on account of the rain ; another
time it was the cold which prevented their going.
Patience and care are necessary.

On the 23d, in tolerably fine weather, I was three
or four leagues from Providence, and I saw large tracts
of country newly cleared and many houses recently
built. This district will grow rich and become peopled
gradually. T dined at Patuxet in the house of M.
Dourville, a Canadian and a lieutenant in the Ame-
rican navy. He had married in this village where he
was held in esteem ; he was of great use to me for the
wood-cutting which was entrusted to me. He had
been employed upon the squadron of M. d'Estaing, and
M. de Ternay had also employed him on his vessel.

On the 24th, it was still pretty fine and I mounted
my horse according to my usual practice. I dined at
Providence with Dr. Bowen, a physician and a re-

spectable old man. He said grace before sitting down
to table ; he seemed beloved and respected by his
numerous family and had the style and manners of a
patriarch. I also dined frequently at the house of
Mr. Bowker, a merchant, born in England, but for a
long time settled in America. They do not eat soups
and do not serve up ragouts at these dinners ; but
boiled and roast and much vegetables. They drink
nothing but cider and Madeira wine with water. The
dessert is composed of preserved quinces or pickled
sorrel. The Americans eat the latter with the meat.
They do not take coffee immediately after dinner, but
it is served three or four hours afterwards with tea;
this coffee is weak and four or five cups are not equal
to one of ours ; so that they take many of them. The
tea, on the contrary, is very strong. This use of tea
and coftee is universal in America. The people who
live in the country, tilling the ground and driving
their oxen, take it as well as the inhabitants of the
cities. Breakfast is an important affair with them.
Besides tea and coffee, they put on table roasted meats
with butter, pies and ham ; nevertheless they sup and
in the afternoon they again take tea. Thus the Ame-
ricans are almost always at the table; and as they
have little to occupy them, as they go out little in
winter and spend whole days along side of their fires

and their wives, without reading and without doing
anything, going so often to table is a relief and a pre-
ventive o^ ennui. Yet they are not great eaters.

They are very choice in cups and vases for holding
tea and coffee, in glasses, decanters and other matters
of this kind and in habitual use. They make use of
wall-papers which serve for tapestry ; they have them
very handsome. In many of the houses there are
carpets also, even upon their stairs. In general, the
houses are verj' pleasant and kept with extreme neat-
ness, w^ith the mechanic and the countryman as well
as with the merchant and the general. Their educa-
tion is very nearly the same ; so that a mechanic is
often called to their assemblies, where there is no dis-
tinction, no separate order. I have already mentioned
that the inhabitants of the entire country are proprie-
tors. They till the earth and drive their oxen them-
selves. This way of living and this sweet equality-
have charms for thinking beings. These manners
suit me pretty well. Burning a great quantity of
wood is one of their luxuries, it is common . One-half
of the districts which I have traversed are wooded,
almost altogether with oaks, among which there are
some very handsome ones. Yet wood is very dear
owing to the difticulty of transporting it. It costs us
for a leasfue about 15 livres a cord.

I have spoken of the cups, the glasses, the paper-
hangmgs, the carpets and other articles in which the
Americans are very choice, and which they procured
from Engh^nd before the war. It is in this direction
that French merchants ought to turn their attention
by trying to bring these articles to perfection, in order
to accustom the Americans to dispense with the En-
glish entirely.

On the 24th and 25th, rain and very violent west
wind ; the 26th to the 28th, cold and clear weather.
I took advantage of it to go to Greenwich, a small
town upon the coast, five leagues from Providence.
Thence I proceeded to Coventry, two leagues from
Greenwich. General Greene's residence is there. He
is a farmer whose merit has raised him to the rank of
general. He was then with the army and possessed
the confidence of General Washington ; he has even
been commander-in-chief of a body of troops in the
south ; one of his brothers, an inhabitant of the country,
had furnished the wagons for transporting the wood
which I had caused to be cut, and he drove them him-
self: such are the manners of this part of America!
My object was to pay a visit to the wife of General
Greene, whom I happened to see at Newport and Pro-
vidence. I was accompanied by M. Haake, a captain
in the regiment of Royal Deux Ponts, and the chaplain

of the hospital. Mrs. Greene received us very kindly.
She is amiable, genteel and rather pretty. As there
was no bread in her house, some was hastily made ;
it was of meal and water mixed together ; which was
then toasted at the fire; small slices of it were served
up to us. It is not much for a Frenchman. As for
the Americans, they eat very little bread. Besides,
the dinner was long ; we remained to sleep there.
Mrs. Greene's house is situated upon a barren piece of
land; this site could have been chosen only on account
of the iron-works situated in the neighborhood. There
is not a single fruit-tree, not even a cabbage. Another
country-house is pretty near, inhabited by two ladies,
who compose all the society that Mrs. Greene has ; in
the evening she invited them to her house, and we
danced ; I was in boots and rather tired ; besides, the
English dances are complicated, so that I acquitted
myself badly. But these ladies were complaisant.

On the 29th and the 30th, I continued my trans-
portation of wood, notwithstanding the rain.

December, 1780. The month opened with a very
violent and very cold north wind.

On the 3d, snow ; my friend M. de la Chese, an

officer of artillery, had come to Providence. We

mounted on horsebacK together and went to dine at

Patuxet at the house of a miller's wife, whose dress,

style of living and furniture differed in no respect
from the best that I had seen in the houses of the
richest Americans.

On the 4th, M. de Rochambeau, who had been to
Lebanon, in Connecticut, to visit the quarters of Lau-
zun's legion, passed through Providence ; he lodged
there. I gave him aii account of my works which he
could not visit. He departed on the 5th, in the morn-
ing. I had to make some bargains for the artillery
and the navy ; to the latter I had already sent some
pieces suitable for building. On this head I remark
that a species of oak is found in America which was
very common in France and which is found there no
longer, at least in the provinces with which I am ac-
quainted ; it is the white oak, mentioned by M.
Buffon. This white oak was used in our old carpenter
works, for which the chestnut has since been used.

From the 6th to the 12th alternations of cold, snow
and rain. I do not neglect my work in the woods or
in the hospital, which, being remote from the army,
requires this supervision. Lastly, one hundred and
twenty soldiers, of different regiments, led only by an
adjutant and scattered through the woods for my
labors, equally demand m}^ whole attention.

On the 14th I went to Newport by sea in an Ame-
rican vessel which was struck by a gale of wind and

was nearly upset ; we were laden with wood, even
upon deck. The cold was very severe. M. the
Chevalier de Ternay, the commander-in-chief of the
squadron, had been sick for several days and had just
been taken on shore ; M. Corte, our chief physician,
had been sent for, who told us that he found him very
ill.

On the 15th, M. de Ternay fell a victim to his dis-
ease ; it was putrid fever. M. de Eochambeau was
not then at Newport; he had gone to Boston.

On the 16th, fine weather. M. de Ternay was buried
with great pomp ; all the land forces were under arms.

I returned to Providence on the 17th. The same
employments until the 24th ; I learnt that several of
our men had received letters by a vessel which had
arrived at Boston from Nantes. These letters men-
tioned reports of a change of the minister of the navy
(Monsieur de Sartine).

The 2oth, Christmas-day. Fog in the morning, rain
in the evening. These observations upon the weather
prove that dry cold or rain does not last more than
two or three days. They have not here those long
spells of cold weather with which we are so often
afflicted in some provinces of France. Yet I hear it
said that, last year, at the same period, the sea was
frozen from Newport to Providence, that is to say for

a distance of ten leagues, and as broad as the Loire
above Nantes. On this day we had lightning and a
little thunder.

On the 27th, the sea began to freeze in the channel
from Providence to Newport, and it would have done
so entirely but for the violence of the wind, which
agitated the water. It was Saint John's day, a great
festival for the free-masons. There was a meeting of
them at Providence ; it was announced in the public
papers, for societies of this sort are authorized.^ I met
in the streets of Providence a company of these free-
masons, going two by two, holding each other's hands,
all dressed with their aprons and preceded by two men
who carried long staves. He who brought up the rear
and who was probably the master had two brethren
alongside of him and all three wore ribbons around
their necks like ecclesiastics who have the blue ribbon.

On the 28th, the Count de Viomenil and the Vis-
count Mesme came to lodge at Providence, and set
out the next morning for Boston. Our army remain-
ing inactive, they take advantage of it to travel and
become acquainted with the country.

On the 31st I finished the cutting of my wood. My

' " Authorized! This note is truly Fi-encli. Why authorized ?
Those societies, from that time were simjily free in America.
With us tliey aiv still only authorized."' — Frnm fhr M!S.

bargain was for two thousand cords. I was very busy
during these last days of the year. I paid the soldiers
who had worked under me, and supplied them with
the means of returning to Newport. Yet I kept some
of them for another cutting of wood which I was about
to undertake.

January, 1781. It was clear, the wind was from
the south-west, the same weather continued on the
subsequent days. At this period there was a very
warm quarrel at Boston between the sailors of an
American frigate, the Alliance, and those of the 8ur-
veillante, a French frigate. The Americans were the
aggressors ; two were killed. The two sailors who
were killed were discovered to be Englishmen, in the
American service, which aided in appeasing the quar-
rel.

On the 5th, I made two new bargains for wood.

On the 6th, Twelfth Night, [jour des Eois] the
ATiiericans had no rejoicing, no festivity.

On the 7th, melted snow and rain ; on the 8th,
wind from the north and sudden cold, very sharp. I
saw the Chevalier de Chastellux, who was returning
from his journey, with which he appeared satisfied.
He told me that the Academy of Philadelphia had
chosen him an associate member; that he had col-
lected some notes respecting the American revolution,

that be would not content himself with mere observa-
tions, and that be would publish a complete work.^

From the lOtb to the 20tb changeable weather.
Monsieur de Rochambeau had caused a large hall to
be constructed for the purpose of assembling a large
number of officers therein in the evening, to afford
them recreation ; they began to frequent it about this
time.

On the 23d, the revolt of a body of American troops
in Pennsylvania was spoken of; on the 26th, M. de
Rochambeau received a letter from General Washing-
ton which informed him of the quieting of this rebel-
lion.

On the 28th, at Providence, where I still was, I saw
General Knox, who commanded the American artillery
and who had acquired reputation. He was a printer
and bookseller. He is a man of from thirty-five to
forty years of age, of a very handsome figure ; he spent
two days at Newport.

General Lincoln also came to see our troops ; he had
with him Mr. Laurens, the son of a president of the

' " 1 do not i>ei-ceive that lie has ke])t his promise. He has
had the account of ]iis journey printed in two A'ohtmes, and some
agreeable details are to he found in it, hut many trifling matters,
mediocre pleasantries and eulogiums, often but little deserved,
of persons who had flattered him. Brissot de Warville has
sharply criticised this work." — JVote from MS.

congress, who had been captured by the English wliilst
on his way to Europe, and was still detained in the
Tower of London. I supped, next day, with them and
General Greene's wife, of whom I have s[)oken above.

Fehruary, 1781. M. de Corny, the commissary, was
preparing to depart for France, on board of the Alli-
ance, an American frigate which also took Mr. Lau-
rens to Europe. I forwarded many letters to M. de
Corny, especially for M. de Yeymeranges and for my
relation M. de Saint-James, the treasurer-general of
the navy. This M. de Corny, a man of intelligence,
but intriguing and greedy, was going away because
there was nothing for him to do. Nevertheless, his
stay in America, short as it has l^een, has not impaired
his fortune.

On the 2d, Messrs. de Laval and de Custine returned
from a long journe}^ which they had taken in the in-
terior of America. They confirmed the news which
had been spread that the CuUoden, an English ship of
94 guns, had been cast upon the coast by a violent
gale of wind and had been lost. Two other English
ships had been dismasted and damaged, so that, at
this moment, the English squadron was reduced to six
ships.

Fehruary. On the 3d, I gave a dinner to Mrs. Greene
and to Mrs. Carter, and also to Messrs. de Viomenil

and Chastellux. For some days past I no longer
boarded with the steward, and I had procured a cook.
I then kept house, at our johit expense, with M. de
la Cheze, an officer of artillery, a gentleman, a deep
gamester, a skillful and successful gamester, and also
generous and enjoying life.

We now have snow and hail nearly every day.

On the 6th, I went to Providence and on horseback,
although the roads were very slippery owing to the
snow which the cold had condensed. So we met
many sleighs, in which people were going on parties
of pleasure or on business.

On the 7th, M. de Jumecourt, an officer of artillery,
and M. Pisangon, my secretary, both very zealous free-
masons, conferred on me the grade of apprentice, and
in the evening I was at an American lodge where I
was present at two receptions. I was then nearly 39
years old. This was beginning rather late.

From the 8th to the loth, snow and cold ; on the
13th I got into a sleigh and went twelve miles in this
conveyance, wdiich is easy and very pleasant. They
go very quickly. I returned from Patuxet to Provi-
dence (five miles) in 80 minutes. I dinedatthehouseof
Mr. Flint, an American, where I learnt much news :
that the Eveille, a ship of our squadron, had just gone,
with two frigates and the cutter, upon a special ex-

pedition ; that an American regiment of New Jersey
had imitated this revolt of the Pennsylvania troops,
but that the sedition had Ijeen quickly suppressed ; two
of the principal leaders had been put to death.

On the 18th, being at Newport, M. de Custine who,
as I have mentioned, had just returned from traveling
in the interior of America, showed me his journal and
the results of his observations. This journal seemed
to me to be very wise and judicious.

He agreed, as I have remarked, that the virtues of
General Washington had been the strongest support
of liberty. He had found the country moderately
fertile, a point of view respecting which 1 questioned
him : what I have seen of it makes me think the
same; in the vicinity of our army none is found fer-
tile except upon the banks of a river which waters
Connecticut, from which we derive the greater part of
our supplies of provisions.

On the 19th, we learnt tliat the English had been
defeated by General Morgan in South Carolina. The
Americans had behaved very well in this affair, in
which they had charged with fixed bayonets. The
account which the American general gave of this bat-
tle was very well done. The English had one thou-
sand men, of regular troops, two hundred of whom
were dragoons. The Americans had only eight hun-
12

dred. We cannot conceive how regular troops and
they superior in numbers allowed themselves to be
beaten by peasants ; they were utterly routed ; the
Americans took 29 officers and 500 soldiers prisoners,
they captured ihe baggage and a large number of
horses, two cannons and two tiags. Although this
news reaches us by an extraordinary courier, we do
not receive it until a month after the event.

On the 24th, during a very strong wind, we per-
ceived four large vessels pretty near to the shore.
These vessels came in at eight o'clock. They were
the Eveille, which went out a few days before, and
the two frigates ; they brought with them the Romulus,
an English ship of fifty guns, which they had captured
in Chesapeake bay. They had also taken nine pri-
vateers and other small vessels, which they had burnt
or left at York, a little port belonging to the Ameri-
cans. But they had been unable to rejoin Arnold, on
board of some vessels which had withdrawn towards
the coasts of Virginia into some rivers which the
Eveille could not enter.

On the 24th, in consequence, I believe, of intelli-
gence furnished by General Washington, orders were
given to the grenadiers and chasseurs to hold them-
selves in readiness to start. This order was counter-
manded the next day, but I learnt that an expedition

was in preparation, of which I was to form part, and I
had to busy myself about it all the subsequent days.

We learnt on the 27tli that the Astre^e, a French
frig ite of fort}^ guns, commanded by M. de la Perouse,^
had just arrived at Boston after a passage of 03 days,
having left Brest on the 24th of December. During
the evening of the 28th, we received letters brought
by this vessel. I received good news from my wife,
my children and all my friends ; it is not without
trembling that I open their letters at this distance.
M. de Montbarrey (minister of war) was succeeded
by M. de Segur. Besides, there was, I was informed,
an infinite amount of intrigue at the court.

The well known navis^ator.

CHAPTER III.

Arrival of freneral WasJiiiif/fon at JVeicport — Emharl-otion of
a Body of Troops on hoard of the ISqiiadron — 31. BJancJi-
ard is Part of it — JVaval Ejujageuient in Chesapeake Bay —
The Army commences its JSIarch to form a Junction with
the Am(ric(in.-< — J/. Bh rn da ird precedes it — He passes
through Prnridmre, Water man- Tavern, Plainfehf Wind-
ham, Bolton, Hartford, Farminyton, Baron-Tavern, Break-
7ieck, Keirtiui-n, Peekskill-Landiny — Sojotmi at General
Washinyton's Camp at Peekskill — Mardi of the Too
Armies against Xev:) York — Camps of Kort/n-astJe eind
PJiillijishury — Character of Genered de BocJuanheaK — The
iSqiKidron if M.de Grasse is announced — the two Armies
tnovt to suj>jiort it.

March, 1781. From the 1st to the 4th, arrangements
continued to be made for the proposed embarkation,
which was postponed, notwithstanding.

On the 4th, a captain of the regiment of Saintonge,
named Laforest, held in esteem in his corps, to whom
M. de Custine bad addressed some language for which
he had in vain demanded justice, killed himself in
despair. This event, which was known a moment be-
fore the parade, created great excitement there. M.
de Custine was insulted there; and, if it had not been
for the presence of some superior officers, worse would
have befallen him.

On the 5th, cold and a high wind in the morning.
Rain in the evening. The order was given for lOUO
men of the infantry and 1500 of the artillery to em-
bark the next da}', which took place on the 6tii.

This day General Washington, who was expected,
arrived about two o'clock. He first went to the Due
de Bouvfjogne, where all our generals were. He then
landed ; all the troops were under arms ; I was pre-
sented to him. His face is handsome, noble and mild.
He is tall (at the least, five feet, eight inches).^ In
the evening, I was at supper with him. I mark, as a
fortunate day, that in which I have been able to be-
hold a man so truly great.

On the 7 th, I repaired on board the DucdeBourgogue,
a ship of 80 guns, commanded by M. Destouches, who
had command of this squadron. M. de Viomenil, had
embarked thereon with several officers of the grenadier
company of Bourbonnois ; the other troops, making a
total of 1120 men, were distributed among the other
ships of war and the Fantasque armed eu flute ; we
also had two frigates and the Romulus, captured from
the English a short time ago, and which had been
brought into the line. The wind being favorable on
the 8th, M. Destouches gave the signal for raising the
anchor. Several vessels were already under sail,

' Freucli feet and inches.

when the Fantasque, commanded by an auxiliary
officer, made a bad manoeuvre and ran aground ; for-
tunately after some shallops were sent to it, it was got
off and was found to be free from damage ; but our
departure was delayed by it for six hours, and we were
unable to leave the narrow entrance to the harbor
until six o'clock in the evening. The wind kept up
until noon the next day : we had made 24 leagues.
We steered towards Delaware bay to attack Arnold,
who was ravaging Virginia.

On the 11th we were 70 leagues from Cape Henry;
the wind, favorable up to that time, became variable
during the whole night, and next day we found our-
selves separated from part of our vessels. We had
with us only the Neptune, the Eveille and the Sur-
veillante. This separation was alarming ; for thus
each of our divisions was very inferior to the English,
We fired some volleys to find our comrades, but in
vain ; unfortunately it was foggy ; at noon we had
made only 14 leagues, and we found ourselves as far
from the Chesapeake bay as on the preceding evening.
At night, the wind became favorable, but strong. All
night we had very bad weather. On the loth, at
noon, we had made 28 leagues, and were not more
than 40 leagues from the bay.

On the 14 th, at eight o'clock in the morning, we

saw land ; it was Cape Henry ; this shore is low, so
that we were pretty near to it. We put about ; soon
afterwards a sail was signaled, then some others, which
compels us to clear the decks ior action. In the
meanwhile we made signals of recognition and soon
recognized the five vessels and the frigate from which
we had been separated and which soon rejoined us to
the great satisfaction of all. On the next day, the
loth, we tacked about to keep ourselves oif the Chesa-
peake bay ; we were in latitude 27° 34' and in longi-
tude 77° 53'.

On the 16th, at 6 o'clock in the morning, a sail was
signaled which was perceived to be a frigate. Other
vessels were soon discovered. Decks were cleared
throughout our whole squadron. At 9 o'clock the
English squadrcm was perfectly well distinguished,
which formed a line after different manoeuvres.

The English had eight ships, one of which was of
three decks ; they also had three frigates. We also
had eight ships, but inferior to those of the English,
for we had no ship of three decks, and we had brought
the Romulus into line, which had only fifty guns.
The English had also one of this force, but it was in
the rank of the frigates ; finally, we wanted one of
our frigates, the Surveillante, detached the evening
before for exploring. M. Destouches's intention was

to avoid an engagement ; but perceiving that the En-
glish were gaining on us considerably, he tacked about
and went at them. We began the engagement
at 2 o'clock ; it was bad weather and there was a little
rain. We were to the leeward, but that was not
detrimental, owing to a heavy sea, because we were
thus enabled to make use of the first battery. How-
ever, the wind changed during the engagement which
lasted a little more than an hour. I will try to write
an exact account of it and one prepared by a man of
the service ; all that I can say in the meanwhile and
on my own account is, that the English seemed to me
to fire very badly, that they did not take advantage of
their superiority, and that there was confusion among
them. One of their ships was so disabled that it fell
to the leeward and made a signal of distress ; it had
encountered our ship and two others at the same time ;
if the Neptune had wished to follow it, it might have
captured it or compelled it to run ashore. The Con-
querant, on which I had been posted during the voyage
to America, had, for its part, to sustain the attack of
three of the enemy's ships, and fought hand to hand
with the ship of three decks ; it had also three officers
killed, among others M. de Kergu, a young man of
promise and of the most brilliant courage, with whom
I was intimately acquainted. A hundred soldiers or

sailors on board of it were hit, among whom forty
were killed on the spot and an equal number mortally
wounded. The greatest carnage was on the deck ;
the boatswains, the captain at arms and seven steers-
men were among the dead, its tiller and the wheel of
its helm were carried away ; notwithstanding which
it held out. The English, who were to the windward
and, consequently, could renew the combat, were not
anxious for it, put about and went away. M. Des-
touches's project seem.ed to be to follow them and
attack them again ; but we lost time in ascertaining
the condition of the Conquerant, which had made a
signal of distress.

Night came and the enemy were already at a dis-
tance. Oil bjard of the Due de Boargogne we had only
four men killed and eight wounded; an auxiliary
officer also received a contusion along side of me ; the
Ardent, one of the ships of our squadron, found itself
for some time between us and an English ship, which
warded off many blows, but at the same time was pre-
judicial to our manoeuvre and hindered us from doing all
the damage to the English that we might have done.
Besides, as I have mentioned, the English did not fire
well ; for we were within pistol shot of one of their
vessels, which twice fired a broadside at us, which I
saw^ very plainly, without injuring us; a ball passed
13

through our mizzen-mast without rendering it unser-
viceable ; fourteen balls were found in the hull of the
ship. During the whole of the engagement I remained
upon the quarter deck, within reach of the captain
and of M. de ViomeniL There I displayed coolness;
I remember thnt in the midst of the hottest fire, M.
de Menonville having opened his snuff box, I begged
a pinch of him and we exchanged a joke upon this
subject. From M. de Viomenil I received a testimony
of satisfaction which gave me pleasure.

On the 17th, the admiral caused us to lie to. and
all the captains repaired for orders. Some infantry
officers came with them, who all did justice to the
valor of the naval officers and the crews. This en-
gagement united the army and the navy. M. de la
Grandiere, captain of the Conquerant, if he did not
display superior intelhgence, distinguished himself by
his heroic courage. M. de la Clochetterie, the comman-
der of the Jason, was also mentioned, and de Marigny,
the captain of the Ardent. Lastly, M. de la Ville-
brune, the commander of the Romulus, of fifty guns,
which sustained the shock of the London, a ship of
three decks, deserved praise.

It was decided that they should return to Newport,
the landing in Virginia seeming im.possible in presence
of the English, who, being better sailers than we, had

certainly proceeded to Chesapeake bay. Besides the
Conquerant was in a bad condition and the Ardent
had also sustained some damage, even before the en-
gagement. At four o'clock we set sail. The next
day we did not see a single ship, and at noon we found
ourselves in the latitude of 36° 6' and in the longitude
of 76°.^

On the 19th, they again lay by to wait for the
Eveille and the Herraione, which had chased and
captured a merchantman going from Bermuda to New
York. There were four English officers on board, who
informed us that the English had captured Curasao
and St. Eustacia, belonging to the Dutch. M. Des-
touches sent the Hermione to Philadelphia with dis-
patches for the congress and our embassador.

' " A very exact account of tlie engngeiiient was jirinted sliortly
aftci-wards. It will be found in the papers of the time. I am
unable to find the copy which I had kei>t. What is certain is
that the English had the Avorst in this affair, by which, never-
theless, we did not profit, because the Concjuerant could not re-
pair her damage quickly enough. The captain of this ship also
made some mistakes in manoeuvring, and lastly, M. Destouches,
who w-as iu command for the first time, and who had been un-
expectedly called to this post by the death of M. dc Ternay, was
afraid of the court, and did not display all the energy that was
requisite. The English had more cannons, but we had more
men, and, I believe, more officers ; in our scpiadron there were
some distinguished for bravery and talents." — Xote from MS.

100

From the 20th to the 23d we chased two vessels
unsuccessfully, one of which was a stout frigate. The
winds were contrary, we tacked about and were com-
pelled to lie by for fear of the land.

On the 23d, in the morning, there were snow, a
thick fog and a violent wind from, the south-east. We
scattered considerably, and there was reason to fear
that we might be cast upon the coast. At two o'clock
the admiral resolved to spread a little sail, which di-
minished the danger, but exposed the Ardent and the
Conquerant, already greatly damaged, to be entirely
dismasted. Our hope was in a change of weather, and
indeed at three o'clock the wind abated a little ; at
four o'clock it became more favorable, the whole crew
were joyful, for they had been really uneasy, and the
rather because we were unacquainted with the coast
and there was a very thick fog ; we had been unable
to take the altitude. Besides, we were in a dangerous
season and a dangerous sea. During the night the
wind again became violent and the sea rough. On
the 24th, the weather grew clear; three of our
ships, which had separated from us, rejoined us. At
last, we perceived land ; it was Martha's Vineyard,
eleven leagues from Newport ; in the evening, we an-
chored near this island; but at midnight, the wind
having suddenly sprung up from the north-east, we

101

dragged our anchors and were compelled to set sail.
We stood for the offing, but on the 25th at two o'clock
in the afternoon, we tacked about. Our prize, from
which we had been separated, rejoined us, as likewise
the Surveillante, one of our frigates which M. Des-
touches had detached on the evening before our en-
gagement for the purpose of reconnoitering. She
reported that she had seen the English crowding
into Chesapeake bay, having several ships unrigged,
and that she had been hotly pursued. It was fortu-
nate that she was able to save herself, for she was ig-
norant of our engagement and might have fallen into
the midst of the English ships.

On the 26th, the wind being favorable, we took ad-
vantage of it to proceed to Newport, where we an-
chored at five o'clock in the afternoon. I landed in
order to have our hospitals prepared for the reception
of the wounded. I found almost all our troops still
under arms, because they did not expect our return,
and had mistaken us for an English squadron.

On the 27th, the troops landed; nothing of interest
occurred at Newport.

The cold continued and there was ice. We had
had some on board also.

April, 1781, The first days of April passed away
very quietly ; we received news of an engagement

102

which had occurred on the 15th of March between the
Americans and the English in Carolina. The English
had remained masters of the field of battle, but with
great loss of men, so that this victory had been of no
great importance to them. We also had the account
which the English gave of the naval engagement of
the 16th of March. It was contradictory. They said
that they would have gained a complete victory if
three of their ships had not been greatly damaged.
Three vessels disabled out of eight was not a very
brilliant victory, whilst we had only two disabled.

On the loth of April, being Good Friday, having
recovered from a violent cold, I set out for Providence,
where my wood-cutting had fallen behindhand, and
where the hospital also required my presence : many
sailors had been sent to it. I slept at Warren, it was
cold and I again saw ice. As yet none of the trees
had leaves, and the apple-trees, which by this time
are covered with blossoms in France, had not a single
one. On my arrival at Providence I resumed my old
way of living which was agreeable to me, and I re-
paired to the wood almost every day.

On the 18th, the merchantmen, which had left
Brest with us, and on w^iich we had embarked a part
of the troops and of our property, left us and repaired
to Saint Domingo, under the escort of a frigate.

103

Nothing new to the 27th, on which I am writing.
The same weather and always cold, on account of the
wind which does not cease to blow strongly ; these
winds are one of the discomforts of this climate.
Different news was then spread, as is usual among
armies. I do not reproduce it, not knowing whether
it is true.

On the 29th, I received the degree of master mason
in a lodge held by the French, over which M. de
Jausecourt presided.

May, 1781. The first days were fine and warm; the
country was still very backward.

On the 6th, I came to Newport. On the same day
the Concorde, which had brought us out, arrived at
Boston. The Count de Baras, chief of the squadron,
appointed to take the place of M. de Ternay, and M.
de Rochambeau's son [were on board]. They left
Brest on the 28th of March. On the 22d of the same
month M. de la Grasse had left that port at the head
of a strong squadron, accompanying a considerable
convoy, one part of which was for the Indies, and the
other part, say 15 merchantmen, for us. These ves-
sels were laden with goods for our army, two compa-
nies of artillery and five hundred men drawn from
different regiments who were to fill up ours and be in-
corporated with them. I saw M. de Al23lierau, lieu-

104

tenant of the navy, who came with M. de Barras, and
who was connected with my wife's family and knew
my brother.

Since the 6th the weather has been bad enough, with
alternations of rain, wind and cold ; people did not
begin to do without fire until about the 15th. ^

On the 19th, eight hundred men were embarked
upon the vessels which were getting ready to go to
meet the convoy which we are expecting ; but the
English having made their appearance in superior
force, it was not considered proper to send out the
squadron. M. de Rochainbeau set out for Hartford,
on the same day, with the Chevalier de Chastellux; a
meeting with General Washington had been appointed,
to confer about the operations of the campaign. The
bad weather returned again and we made a fire.

On the 26th, M. de Rochambeau returned from his
interview with General Washington and on the suc-
ceeding days made arrangements for a movement of
the troops.

' " Notwithstanding this changeable weather which I have ob-
served at Rhode Isbmd during the whole winter, the country is
healthy, the rest of my sojourn proved it to me. I have always
had fewer sick i)ersons in our hospitals than in France, and w^hen
our army set out in tlie latter part of 1782, after staying in
America two and a half years, we had not ten sick in a thousand
men.''' — JVote fro)n MS.

105

On the ni,o:ht of the 28th-!29th, an officer of artillery
named la Boioliere was assassinated by a sergeant of
his company, without anyone's knowing the reason.
The murderer desired to drown himself, but they
drew him out of the water. The officer, although he
received several blows with a sabre, does not appear
to be in danger. There was no delay in the trial of
the assassin, who was hung, after having his hand cut
off. He did not acknowledge his crime and died with
firmness.

June, 1781. The first days were fine and pretty
warm. We learnt that M. de Grasse had arrived
fortunately at Martinico. A council of war was
held on board of the Due de Bourgogne and decided
that the squadron should not go to Boston, but should
remain at Newport where we would leave four hun-
dred men of the infantry. We continue to make pre-
parations for the departure of the troops.

On the 1th, I spent part of the day on the island of
Con anient, with which I was not yet acquainted ; it
is two miles from Newport and may be about two
leagues long. I was there with some naval officers
and M. de la Grandiere, who had dinner provided
for us.

On the 7th, the cold returned and people warmed
14

106

themselves. I was invited to a great farewell dinner
on board of the Due de Bonrgogne. There were sixty
persons present, several of whom were ladies of New-
port and the vicinity. The quarter-deck had been
arranged with sails, which made a very handsome
hall. On the same day there was a council of admin-
istration, composed of officers of the land and sea ser-
vices. M. de Lauzun had just arrived, after having
been to settle several points with General Washington.
In the evening M. de Tarle told me to get ready the
next day for Providence, as the first division of the
troops was to proceed thither on the 10th.

At this period I sent some bills of exchange to
France. Our salaries were paid in money, and
we took them to the army-banker, who gave us
bills of exchange at 20, 25 and sometimes 30 premium.
I mention, for instance, that I then sent to my sister
525 livres in a bill of exchange which I had obtained
for 367 livres. It was an abuse ; it seems to me that
the treasurer himself might have given us bills of
exchange with some loss to the king, but not with
that which he had to bear. There was something
odious about it ; he paid us and we went as quickly
as possible to sell this money to him with usury.
At this time the American paper money was utterly

107

depreciated. Tt was at 700 per cent discount ; hereto-
fore we had seen it at from 60 to 80, and I had
passed much of it at 72.

On the 9th, I went to Providence. On the road I
jnet a naval officer, who was going to report at New-
port that the Sagittaire, a ship of 50 guns, had arrived
at Boston, after a passage of 80 days, with the greater
part of the convoy which we were expecting. Only
four ships, which had gone astray, were missing ;
among which was the Jauny, armed by M. Gaudelet,
the correspondent of tny family at Brest and my own.

On the 10th, M. de Tarle passed through Providence
on his way to Boston. The troops arrived to-day and
the next day; M. de Rochambeau, the generals and
the entire staff also passed through Providence. After-
wards several successes of M. de Grasse were men-
tioned.

From the 10th to the 16th I was occcupied with the
business of the army.

On the 16tli, I set out in the morning for General
Washington's camp, to which I was ordered to proceed,
stopping at the different places where our troops were
to be stationed, in order to examine if anything was
needed. The Americans supplied us with nothing ;
we were obliged to purchase everything and to pro-
vide ourselves with the most trifling things. It is

108

said that it is better to make war in an enemy's
country than among one's friends. If this is an
axiom, it acquires still more truth when war is made
in a poor and exhausted country, where the men are
possessed of little information, selfish and divided in
their opinions. I stopped to dine at Waterman's
tavern, the principal place of the county, the first
station of the army, fifteen miles from Providence, say
five leagues. The road is agreeable, we pass through
some woods ; but we see few cultivated ftirms and
meet with many rocks and tracts of sand. I paid nine
livres for my dinner ; it only consisted of a piece of
veal, hastily fricasseed ; but in this payment, the dinners
of my two servants and of three horses were included.

At night, I lay at Plainfield, fifteen miles from
Waterman's tavern. The country is a little more
cleared, especially in the environs of Plainfield, where,
nevertheless, there are only five or six houses I saw
some farms sown with rye and wheat, but especially
with maize (what we call Turkish corn in Anjou) and
with potatoes. I also passed through many woods,
mostly of oaks and chestnut trees. My lodging cost
me 18 livres.

On the 17th, I set out at half after six for Wind-
ham, where I arrived at ten o'clock, after a journey
of fifteen miles. The country is very similar to the

109

environs of Plainfield ; yet we see more pasture lands
there, which are in the valleys. So we have to ascend
and descend continually on this road. Plainfield and
Windham are in Connecticut. Windham seemed to
have sixty houses, all pretty ; there is also a very
handsome temple,^ called in this country « meetlwi-liouse.
Lauzun's legion had spent the winter at Lebanon,
which is only six miles from Windham. There is
another villasce between Plainheld and Windham,
called Strickland, which seemed to me to be pretty,
and where we also saw a temple. I lay at Bolton,
where I was very sick, after a fatiguing; march ; it is
eighteen miles from Windham to Boston, and we had
to ascend and descend. I saw some pljices cleared,
that is to say, where the wood had been cut, and
which are tilled.

On the 18th, I arrived at Hartford, the capital of
Connecticut, fourteen miles from Boston ; the road is
fine. Before entering Hartford we pass by a ferry
across the Connecticut river, which empties into the
sea and carries vessels of seventy tons to Hartford ; it
is not navigable any farther except for iiat boats ;
moreover, it is not very broad. After having paid
some attention to my business, I went to dine with
Colonel Wadsworth, whom I had known at Newport,

^ The French wor<t for a Protestant church.

the person who supplied our army. He has a hand-
some house very neatly furnished. He introduced me
to the governor, Mr. Trumbull, who presides over the
state of Connecticut, for there is a governor in every
state, chosen by the people I learnt at Hartford that
General Greene, at the house of whose wife I had been
at Providence, had obtained a considerable advantage
in the south, and had taken 700 of the English pri-
soners.

On the 19th, I was particularly busy with a hospital
which we were establishing at Hartford ; and I was, by
way of parenthesis, compelled to fight, in presence of
a great number of Americans, with three nurses who
mutinied. I dined at the house of Mr. Alley, the su-
perintendent of provisions. Hartford, the capital of
Connecticut, somewhat smaller than Providence, is
built in the same style ; the streets are wider, but they
are not all paved. We saw there two temples, and a
third outside of the city, and a Court House or City
Hall. The environs are fertile, especially the banks
of the river, where very good pasturage is found. Be-
fore reaching Hartford and crossing the river, we find
a village called East Hartford ; it is there that our
troops are to encamp. This village has only thirty
houses and a temple ; but three or four miles oft' are
some houses which depend upon it.

Ill

I did not leave Hartford until early on the 22d. M.
de Rochambeau arrived on that day with our first divi-
sion, and he desired me to precede them. I dined and
remained at Farmington, ten or twelve miles from
Hartford. The country between these two points
seemed to me to be dry ; but Farmington is in a plea-
sant valley. I continued my journey and lay at
Baron's Tavern, which is situated between two steep
mountains.

On the next day, the 23d, to reach Breakneck for
dinner I was obliged to follow a difficult road, to leave
the valley and climl^ a mountain ; so that Breakneck
means to break one's neck. From this place to
Newtown, where I was to pass the night, is eighteen
miles, more than half of which is in a bad road. In
general, the country is middling, yet in the midst of
these rocks, we find some pieces of sown ground which
seem to produce much grain, at least for the time
being ; for these farms, newly cleared, seem to me to
have httle depth of soil. At first they have produced
much, because beds of the leaves of trees are found
there which, being rotten and mixed with the soil,
fertilize it ; but this can only be for the moment.

Newtown is on a hill surrounded l)y hills which
are still higher. There are only a hundred houses
with two temples. One of them was near the place

112

where I lodged ; and, as it was Sunday, I saw many
people from the vicinity dismount there As all the
inhabitants of the country are proprietors and, con-
sequently, in pretty easj'^ circumstances, they had
come on horseback, as well as their wives and daugh-
ters. In the neighborhood of Boston, they come in
carriages ; but here the country is mountainous and
the horse is more suitable. The husband mounts his
horse along with his wife ; sometimes there are two
women or two young girls together; they are all well
clothed, wearing the little black hat in the English
style, and making as good an appearance as the
burghers in our cities. I counted more than a hundred
horses at the door of the temple, where I heard sing-
ing before the preaching, in chorus or in parts. The
singing was agreeahle and well performed, not by
hired priests and chaplains, but by men or women,
young men or young girls whom the desire of praising
God had assembled.

To-day I was rejoined at Newtown, where I spent
the whole day, by M. de Sangon, my secretary and
some surgeons and apothecaries. I pointed out to
them the site which I had selected for the hospital,
and set out, on the 25th, to proceed to the American
army.

I dined at Plainfield, a very small village, where I

113

found nothing but some fried ham cand I lay at a
place called Crampond. The country is mountainous
and barren ; the trees are small and very inferior to
those in the vicinity of Providence. Crampond and
its environs are not considered a very safe country ;
it is peopled by tories and, besides, is at no great dis-
tance from New York, where the English have their
principal forces, at present.

I set out very early on the 26th and reached the
American army. I stopped at Peekskill, a small vil-
lage. I could hardly find a room in the inn, which
was occupied by A[r. Pearson, one of the American
generals. Peekskill is situated on the North river
which is very broad ; it is almost an arm of the sea,
which vessels of war ascend. In some respects it
divides America into two parts, and it is upon this
river that the fortifications of West Point are found,
the important post which Arnold had intended to
give up to the English. I went to speak to General
Pearson, who gave me an aide-de-camp, to conduct me
to General Washington, whose quarters were at a dis-
tance of two miles. I found him sitting upon a bench
at the door of the house where he lodged. I explained
my mission to him and he gave me a letter for the
quarter-master of Peekskill landing, to which I pro-
ceeded. These quarter masters have here, in the
15

114

army, almost the same functions as we, but with more
authority. I set out immediately upon the same
horses, although I had more than eight leagues to
travel and in the rain. I passed through another
Peekskill where the Americans have their magazines
and their arsenals. These are large wooden barracks,
built recently, situated between two ranges of mount-
ains. This other Peekskill is on the bank of the
river ; it is there that they are building our ovens, a
business which I found very little advanced. The
builder, desiring to make them elegant, sent to a dis-
tance for the materials. The next day I went to
Poughkeepsie, a village where it was proposed to esta-
blish our hospitals, five leagues beyond Peekskill
landing, on the road to Albany, and, consequently, to
Canada. I sent a letter to General Clinton, which I
had for him ; he is the governor of the province of
New York, in w^iich we were. The legislature was
then sitting, to which I was summoned, the governor
having informed them of my demand of a site to esta-
blish a hospital. After waiting for some time, two
deputies were sent to me who spoke French, General
Schuyler, retired from the service and residing at Al-
bany (he was brother-in-law of M. Coster, one of the
providers of our army) ; the other, General Scott,
commanding the militia of the province, both about

115

50 years of age and of good maimers. On tne same
day I returned to sleep at Peekskill landing. It is a
village partly inhabited by Dutch families. They have
preserved the manners and character of their nation.
The inn at which I dismounted was kept by one of
these ffimilies.

I set out again on the 28th for the American army.
I passed by General Washington's quarters, but as he
had changed them I did not see him, and I proceeded
directly to the inn at which I had previously dis-
mounted at Peekskill. I met M. Da Portail, a French
engineer in the service of America, with whom I con-
versed. He was greatly esteemed by the Americans.
I spent the remainder of the day in the camp and saw
two regiments go through their exercise. The soldiers
marched pretty well, but they handled their arms
badly. There were some fine-looking men ; also many
who were small and thin, and even some children
twelve or thirteen years old. They have no uniforms
and in general are l^adly clad

On the 29 th, I got on horseback to see some Ijarracks
which had been occupied by an American regiment
during the winter ; my purpose was to estiil)lish a
hospital there. On the road I met General Washing-
ton, who was going to review a part of his troops He
recognized me, stopped and invited me to dine with

116

hiin at three o'clock. I repaired thither ; there were
twenty-five covers used by some officers of the army
and a lady to whom the house belonged in which the
general lodged. We dined under the tent. I was
placed alongside ot the general. One of his aides-de-
camp did the honors.

The table was served in the American style and
pretty abundantly : vegetables, roast beef, lamb, chick-
ens, salad dressed with nothing but vinegar, green
peas, puddings and some pie, a kind of tart, greatly in
use in England and among the Americans, all this
being put upon the table at the same time. They
gave us on the saoje plate beef, green peas, lamb, &c.
At the end of the dinner the cloth was removed and
some Madeira wine was brought, which was passed
around, whilst drinking different healths, to the king
of France, the French army, etc. I rose when I heard
General Washington ask for his horses, because I de-
sired to have a conversation with him and Mr. Coster,
the purveyor of our army, who had arrived and spoke
French well. We all three left the table ; the other
officers remained ; the lady also withdrew at the same
time as we. Our conference being ended, the general
proposed to us to return again to the table for a moment,
whilst waiting for the time of departure. Again some
healths were drunk, among others that of the Count

117

de Grasse ; then everyone rose from table. I have
dwelt upon the details of this dinner, because every-
thing that relates to General Washington seems inte-
resting to me.

I have already described his figure. His physiog-
nomy has something grave and serious ; but it is
never stern, and, on the contrary, becomes softened by
the most gracious and amiable smile. He is aftable
and converses with his officers familiarly and gaily,
I was not sufficiently accustomed to the English lan-
guage to maintain a connected conversation with him ;
nevertheless we exchanged some words, for instance,
respecting the battle of the Chesapeake, which he
considered glorious to our arms. He excused himself
respecting the entertainment which he had given me,
to which I replied that I found m3^self in good case in
America, better than in Corsica, where I had been for
a long time. As to this subject he told me that the
English papers announced that the Corsicans were
about to revolt and create a diversion against us. I
replied that I had no fear of it, that the Corsicans
were not dangerous, and that Paoli was not Washin,o--
ton. In the evening I saw him again ; he had come
to see General Pearson, in whose house I was lodging.
He invited me to come and dine with him as long as
I remained in his quarters. On the next day, passing

118

by this house, again, he stopped there, caused me to be
called, and proposed to me to take me to dine at the
house of one of the American generals to which he
was going. I thanked him, on account of some busi-
ness, and he invited me in the most polite manner in
the world for the next day.

July, 1781. I went thither, indeed ; it was the first
of July. I found the table served as at the first time
with about the same number of guests. I was along-
side of General Washington and another general
named Lord Stirling (he claimed to be an English
lord). General Washiugton seemed, for a moment,
to be somewhat absent, at other times he joined in
the conversation and appeared to be interested in it.
There was a clergyman at this dinner who blessed the
food and said grace after they had done eating and
had brought on the wine. I was told that General
Washington said grace when there was no clergyman
at table, as fathers of a family do in America. The
first time that I dined with him tliere was no clergyman
and I did not perceive that he made this prayer ; yet
I remember that, on taking his place at table, he made
a gesture and said a word which [ took for a piece of
politeness, and which perhaps was a religious action.
In this case, his prayer must have been short; the
clergyman made use of more forms.

119

We remained a pretty long time at table. They
drank twelve or fifteen healths with Madeira wine.
In the course of the meal beer was served and <jrum,
rum mixed with water.

On the Ud the American army left the camp of
Peekskiil to advance nearer to New York. The first
division of our troops proceeded in the same direction.
I was informed of this march, the evening before, by
M. de Tarle, which altered our projects of establish-
ments for victuals and hospitals in the environs of
Peekskiil, where I was, nevertheless, obliged to re-
main. General Washington himself departed, and I
saw him pass with his staft' and an escort of dragoons.

On the 3d, I learnt that our army was at North-
castle. I ought to send bread to it. Only a small
quantity, 3000 rations, reached me. The ovens of
Peekskiil landing were found to be too distant from
our army, and thia service was not well performed.
Besides, T was not entrusted with it and had very
little authority over it.

On the 4th, in the morning, I saw several American
officers returning w^ounded to Peekskiil ; they had
been so the evening before at Kingsbridge. The
English were guarding a post there which the Ameri-
can advanced-guard attacked ; one of these officers
was stretched out in the room in which I was dining ;

120

his wife was busy about him and dressed his wounds
herself, a touching spectacle, but little suitable for
giving an appetite. On the same day, the effects of
the American troops which had remained at Peeks-
kill were sent to them upon a great number of vehicles,
escorted by some soldiers of this nation, who, contrary
to all discipline, fired incessantly and thus sjDent their
powder very uselessly, a commodity which, neverthe-
less, was very scarce in America.

On the 5th, I rejoined the army at Northcastle. It
left that place on the 6th. I remained at Northcastle
to establish a hospital there. On the 7th, I rejoined
our troops, encamped at Phillipsburg, eight leagues
from New York. I lay in M. de la Cheze's tent, not
having my baggage with me. The heat was excessive ;
it was not moderated until the 10th by a great rain
which lasted all night and passed through all the
tents. 1 dined that day at the intendant's with
General Washington. He was rather grave ; it was
said that there had been a little misunderstanding
between him and General Rochambeau. General
Washington's army was encamped near ours ; it was
about 4000 men.

On the 11th, I returned to Northcastle to see our
hospital estabhshment ; I busied myself until the 14th
in the details of the service. I learnt some particulars

121

respecting the attack of Kingsbridge, of which I have
spoken ; they expected to surprise the EngUsh, but
they were upon their guard, so that the Americans
were repulsed. Lauzun's legion marched to their assist-
ance ; but General Lincoln, who was retreating, did
not think fit to employ it. We had news that the
English were evacuating Virginia, which, it was said,
was to be ascribed to the march of our troops. Lastly
an engagement was mentioned between the Surveil-
lante, a frigate of our squadron and a ship of 50 guns ;
she got off with much glory ; she was commanded by
M. de Villars. It is the same frigate that fought with
so much courage against another English frigate
which took fire ; she was then commanded by M. de
Conedie, who received a woui.d of which he died.

On the 15tli, I returned to the camp. In the even-
ing M. de Rochambeau reproached me respecting the
supply of bread which had failed. It was in vain for
me to justify myself by telling him that I was not
especially entrusted with this service ; he was unwil-
ling to listen to me. Nevertheless I had foretold that
the bread would fail owing to the remoteness of the
ovens. Next day the following remarks of M. de
Rochambeau were related to me, that I was well
pleased to see the supply fail, because I wished to
have the intendant sent away and to fill his place ;
16

122

that as to the rest, the provisions ought to have been
entrusted to me. Never were reproach and suspicion
more unjust, and I felt it much. But such is M. de
Rochambeau. He mistrusts every one and always
believes that he sees himself surrounded by rogues and
idiots. This character, combined with manners far
from courteous, makes him disagreeable to everybody.^
On the 17th, I had occasion to see him again and he
charged me to go and reconnoitre a site where he pro-
posed to esbablish new storehouses of provisions, which
I performed the same day. On the next day I wasted
a whole day in running over, tediously and uselessly,
the environs of the camp in a barren and desert region
with which 1 was unacquainted, to find some employees
whom 1 needed. Nevertheless, 1 succeeded in having

' I Avrote what precedes in a moment, of ill-humor ; and al-
though M. de Roeham1)eau was unjust to me, on this occasion,
and there is some truth in the portrait, which is here drawn of
him, I ought to say that he also has good qualities, that he is
wise, that he desires what is good, and that, if he is not an able
administrator, he is generally very active, having an excellent
glance, readily becoming acquainted with a country, and under-
standing war perfectly. He has served well in America and
has given a favorable idea of the nation. People expected to
see a French fop, and they saw a thoughtful man. " Your
general is abstemious," an American alongside of whom I was din-
ing, once said to me, and who remarked his moderation at table.
This moderation and this wisdom were generally observable in
the most important points.

123

a service of provisions established in a village called
Rick's mill. On returning to camp I learnt that a cap-
tain of Lauzun's legion had been killed whilst going
the rounds with the patrol.

On the 21st, I saw M. de Rochambeau, to whom I
gave an account of what I had done. His reception
of me is usually cold. Nevertheless, I knew that he
had spoken of my performances with praise. In the
evening, at 9 o'clock, Lauzun's legion and the grena-
diers and chasseurs of the Bourbonnois brigade started
under the command of M. de Chastellux for an expe-
dition, of the cause and object of which we are igno-
rant. An American corps also marched. M. de
Rochambeau and Washington followed these divisions.

We learnt, on the 22d, that these troops had not
accomplished anything, and they returned on this
same day after having pillaged extensively and com-
mitted disorders, of which hitherto there had been no
example. On the contrary, the army had behaved
with a prudence which had merited the greatest
praises from the Americans themselves. The latter
marched in a very orderly manner to-day. I l)elieve
that they had no other object than to make a recon-
noissance, the result of which was to satisfy them that
they could riot attack New York without very superior
forces.

124

Nothing new happened until the 26th, when I re-
turned to Northcastle. At this time it was said that
the English fleet had left New York, to go to Virginia
in search of Lord Cornwallis, who seemed to be desir-
ous of evacuating that province altogether. If this news
is true, the English must be very strong in New York,
which ought to oblige us to retreat and to evacuate
the camp of Phillipsburg : that would not be much re-
gretted as to the matter of convenience. The head-
quarters especially are badly situated and all the corps
and services too distant from each other. I was
obliged to go four or five leagues every day to attend
to my business.

The country is uneven, cut up by hills and woods.
It is hard to find any valleys at all fertile. The hos-
pital, for instance, was located on a farm, the truly
rural situation of which was very pleasing. In these
fields we saw two trees which are met with in France
only in the gardens of the botanists and of some con-
noisseurs ; the tulip tree and the catalpa. The first is
of the poplar genus ; it becomes very tall and very
straight ; its bark is handsome and its leaf large ; it
has a flower which resembles a tulip, whence its name.
I saw one at Northcastle taller than the finest elm and
as thick, straight and affording much shade ; this
would be a fine tree for an avenue ; the other the cat-

125

alpa, or the caltapa, resembles the plantain, but its
leaf is larger ; the flower resembles that of the horse-
chestnut; it bears it at the same time as the leaves.
This would be a very suitable tree for ornamenting
gardens and making arbors. It is known in France
by the name of bignonia, a name which Tournefort had
given it in honor of the Abbe Bignore, the keeper of
the king's library. In conversing with the Americans
about agriculture, I became confirmed in the opinion
that the farms which appeared fertile in the north of
America were chiefly so because they were newly
cleared, but that they soon become exhausted. It is
said that better soils are found on penetrating to the
west. I am willing to believe it, but this country is
unknown and inhabited by savage tribes, difficult to
be subjugated.

August, 1781. Nothing interesting occurred during
the first days of the month. I went and came, from
the camp to Northcastle and from Northcastle to the
camp. Pretty often we had storms and heavy rains,
which cooled the air only for a moment. We had few
sick men and less in proportion than in France. The
retirement of M. Necker was much spoken of at this
time, which seemed to concern everj^one. We learnt
this news through the English, who often sent
trumpets and forwarded gazettes to us. We learnt

126

from the same papers that M. de la Mothe-Piquet had
captured a rich convoy. The parleys between us and
the English were displeasing to the Americans, and
even to General Washington ; they were unaccustomed
to this way of making war.

We were very quiet in our camp, foraging without
being disturbed. The English contented themselves
with guarding their cities and the outposts without
making the least attempt against us ; this made us
sometimes believe in peace. On the other hand we
were in daily expectation of M. de Grasse's squadron.

On the 16th, having gone to Peekskill to see our
magazines and two churches which I was fitting up to
serve as hospitals for us in case of need, I received an
express from the intendant telling me to transfer the
hospital from Northcastle to Peekskill ; he added that
he was about to proceed to Chatain on the North river.
I proceeded immediately to the army, taking another
route than the usual one. I skirted the North river
and passed through a village called Taristown,^ where
there was a little trade. On arriving at headquarters,
I learnt that the Concorde frigate, detached by M. de
Grasse, had just arrived and that it had brought dis-
patches from him. He announced that he was about
to join us with twenty-eight ships of the line ; as, ac-

1 Qu. Tarrytown ?

127

cording to all appearances, he must have entered
Chesapeake bay, the French and American generals
made a movement with the two armies to be nearer
to him and to confine, or rather to hem in, Cornwallis's
army which was at the extremity of Virginia. This
frigate confirmed to us the capture of a convoy by M.
de la Mothe-Piquet ; we also learnt that they had re-
captured Pondichery and were besieging Madras. It
seemed also that the news of the- retirement of M.
Necker was assuming consistence.

On the 19th, the army began its movem.ent to the
rear from Phillipsburg to Northcastle. Many wagons
broke down on the road and there was much disorder
in the columns ; a very great rain which came on de-
layed the march, and the troops bivouacked on the road.
M. de Rochambeau had a very lively scene with the
intendant upon this subject ; I was present and suffered
much on account of it. I thought that if these posi-
tions are handsome they certainly have their discom-
forts.

On the 21st, the army left Northcastle. In the
evening I received orders from the general to carry a
letter to General Washington, who was already on the
other side of the North river, where we also were be-
ginning to form some establishments. The Americans
were already much farther off than I had supposed ; I

128

joined them, nevertheless : General Washington was
occupying Smith's house, famous owing to the fact that
there Andre and Arnold had held their meeting. Gene-
ral Washington was taking tea ; I took it with him.
He read the letter, which I had brought him, twice, and
which, I believe, contained nothing very important.
When he had given me his answer, I immediately set
out again ; it was late and I crossed the North river
by night ; I reached head quarters at eleven o'clock.
All the rooms were occupied in the inn where I
alighted, and I slept on the Hoor and upon a staircase.
The next morning I learnt that some letters had
arrived for us by the frigate la Magicienne, which had
just reached Boston after a passage of fifty-three days,
and which brought us 1,800,000 livres. Another fri-
gate, la Fortune, which had put into St. Domingo,
followed her closely. The retirement of M. Necker is
confirmed. M. de Viomenil received a memoir com-
posed against him, which he communicated to me, and
which seemed to me a little masterpiece of wit.

129

CHAPTER ly.

IVie Allied Armies cross tJie North River and marrh toumrds
tJte Chesapeake Hay ■ — • 31. lilanchard rejoins tltoji soon
afterioards — He passes throuf/Ii Whippariy, Somerset, Prince-
ton and Redlines, stops at Philadilphia, and goes on through
Chester, Wibnington, Iir<ijnh/ir;,,e, (/hristian Bridge and
Head of ElK\ fJicre he rejoins fhr ^Irmi/ — He embarks
with a PetacJiment to effect a Junction u-itli the Troops
brought by 31. de Grasse\s Squadron, a-hicJi had arrived in
the Bay.

August, 1781. On the 22d and 23d, the army began
to cross the North river, and it was decided that I
should remain for the present at Peekskill.

On the 2od and 24th, our troops finished crossing
the river. This crossing occupied much time, owing
to the breadth of the river, which tliey were obliged
to cross in ferry boats collected in great numbers, but
still not enough. On the 25th, 1 went myself to the
spot and saw many of the troops and much baggage
cross. General Washington was tiiere ; they had pro-
vided a pavilion for him, from which he examined every-
thing very attentively. He seemed, in this crossing,
in the march of our troops towards the Chesapeake
bay and in our reunion with M. de Grasse, to see a
17

130

better destiny arise, when at this period of the war,
exhausted, destitute of resources, he needed a great
success which might revive courage and hope. He
pressed my hand with much affection when he left us
and crossed the river himself. It was about two
o'clock. He then rejoined his army, which had com-
menced its march in the morning, as also the first
division of our army.

On the 2Gih, the second division of our army and
all our troops directed their course towards Phihadel-
phia. The American general Heath was entrusted
with the command of this side of the river and the
protection of our establishment.

On the 28th, after having caused a convoy for the
army to set out, I mounted a horse to go to West
Point. It is a fortification, or rather a mass of fortifi-
cations, erected upon a rock which projects much into
the river and contracts it considerably at this place.
The passage of it was difficult and the Americans had
neglected nothino; to increase the natural difficulties.
Thus the English had never dared to attempt this im-
portant crossing. West Point is the post which the
traitor Arnold wished to give up in the latter part of

JVote. The event has justified my remarks ; for the capture
of Yorktown, the result of our reiinion with M. de Grasse, greatly
contributed to the peace and secured the liberty of America.

131

1780. The Americans have some estahUshmeiits in
the neighborhood, among others, a hospital vvliich I
visited ; the sick were in single beds, but without
sheets and only on the straw with a coverlid. Besides,
they had no nourishment but bread and meat which
the convalescents prepare. The buildings which serve
for the hospital were nothing but barns which had
not even been repaired.^ People sometimes complain
of our military hospitals, but it is enough to see these
to acknowledge that these complaints are unfounded.
Military men who have traveled know it well and de-
clare that our army-hospitals are greatly superior to
all those of foreign countries. From West Point I
went to Peekskill, where I had already been in the
month of June. As I was passing in the midst of
some barracks connected with the American establish-
ments, I was greatly surprised at hearing French
spoken. In fact, these barracks were occupied by
eight or ten families who had come from Canada ; the
men had been employed among the troops and the
women and children had been left in these barracks,
and some assistance had been given to them. They

' Let the reader consult tlie work of the sub-inteiidaiit Vigo-
Roussilon, Of the Military Pover of the United States <f Ame-
rica, 186, and let him compai-e the American hospitals of 1781
with those of the War of the Succession,

132

presented a very miserable appearance. A woman to
whom I spoke, twenty years old and of a tolerably
pretty figure, called herself by her maiden name,
Marie Gogiiet. She spoke pretty good French with-
out accent. I gave her a piaster, which she received
with pleasure. On the 30th, I crossed the North
river at King's-ferry, and, having concluded to rejoin
the army, after having given my instructions, I set
out on the first of September.

Sejitemher, 1781. The country which I crossed for
three or four leagues is mountainous and middling, it
is better and more agreeable in the place where I
stopped to dine, at Suftern, which is also the name of
the inn-keeper. His house is situated in the state of
New York ; but Pompton, where I passed the night,
is in New Jersey. The road to it is very level, it is
in a valley tolerably well cultivated and pleasant. I
lodged at the house of a Dutchman, John Van Gelder,
who received me very well. The next day, at two, I
dined at Whippany, where the army had stopped. The
road which I followed continues to be fine, situated in
a cultivated valley. Some wood is found there never-
theless. I observed fewer apple trees there than in
the other provinces through which I had passed, but
many peach trees. This valley is also vevy narrow
and the mountains which border on it are barren ;

133

there are some sandy places in the valley itself. I
saw nothing there but buckwheat and maize, and
these farms are greatly in need of manure. In France
these farms would be middling good. I learnt, on the
way, that the La Resohite frigate had arrived ; we
were impatiently expecting it; it had been announced
to us b}^ the Magicienne. It brought us money, as
well for us as for the Americans, and some goods for
their trtiops. It also brought back Mr. Laurens, the
son of a president of the congress, whom i have al-
ready mentioned, and who had gone to France in the
month of February to ask for this assistance. On the
same day I came to spend the night at Bullion's tav-
ern, after having passed through Chatham, a village
where our ovens had been set up, which I was well
pleased to visit, which caused me to go five miles far-
ther and prevented my passing through Morristown,
where General Washington had his quarters for a
long time, and where the Americans have some iron-
works as at Peekskill ; I also lost the opportunity of
visiting the country house of Lord Stirling, that
American general whose nobility is somewhat con-
tested. This country house is almost unique in these
parts, where the dwellings resemble farm houses ;
they have no gardens, no fences, no fruit-walls, only
some apple trees, some peach trees and some scattered

134

cherry trees, or forming what we call orchards. The
road which I took to reach Bullion's tavern is not dis-
agreeable ] but the farms are still middling, they were
sown with maize and buckwheat ; I also saw a little
hemp there.

On the 3d, I dined at Somerset, the same kind of
country and the same road, and lay at Princeton, a
pretty village, of about sixty houses ; the inns there
are handsome and very clean. A very handsome col-
lege is also to be seen there, built in the same style
as that at Providence. The English had quartered
their troops in it when they were masters of this part
of the country ; they had damaged it somewhat. I
visited the college ; there were fifty scholars ; there
was room for two hundred. Several languages were
taught ; a student who accompanied me alreadj-^ spoke
a little French.

He showed me a tolerably ingenious machine repre-
senting the movement of the stars, which was moved
by springs. My intention had been to spend the
night at Princeton, but the weather was fine and I
proceeded to Trenton, going forty miles in the day.
Trenton, ten leagues from Philadelphia, is a pretty
considerable village, of at least a hundred houses, sit-
uated on the Delaware. This village, or little city,
is pretty and seems to announce the vicinity of a capi-

135

tal. I made haste to leave it on the 4th, having
learnt that our first division was already at Philadel-
phia, and that the second arrived there on this very
day. I crossed the Delaware in a ferry boat ; it is
neither broad nor deep at this place, but at the dis-
tance of four leagues it becomes as broad as the Loire
below La Fosse. I had heard Americans say that
these two rivers resembled each other ; this resem-
blance also struck me owing to the colors of the white
and limpid water and the low and agreeable banks.
The road leading to Philadelphia is fine, at least to
within ten miles from this city, at Redlines,^ where I
stopped to dine and wrote these notes. It is quite
wide and skirts the Delaware ; forests are passed
through in some places. At last, I reached Philadel-
phia in the evening; the country in the neighborhood
is cultivated ; here and there I met with pretty houses
and everything announced the vicinity of a great city.
Philadelphia is a very extensive city, and regularly
built ; the houses are of brick and pretty high, the
streets straight, broad, and very long ; there are side
walks for persons on foot. Some public buildings are
also to be seen there which are worthy of a great city,
such as the house where the congress meets, the hos-

The Red Lion ?

136

pitals and the prison. The absence of quays upon the
Delaware deprives it of a great convenience and a
great beauty. In the evening I repaired to the house
of M. de la Luzerne, who was giving a great dinner to
the chief officer of the congress, General Washington
and the principal officers of our troops. On entering
the city they defiled before the president of the con-
gress and saluted him. Beginning on the 5th, our first
division set out for the Chesapeake bay. I walked
much in the city, without neglecting my business and
the attention to be paid to our sick, who had been
quartered in the Philadelphia hospital. I dined on the
same day at the house of M. de la Luzerne with more
than eighty persons. Whilst we were at table, news
was brought that M. de Grasse had arrived in Chesa-
peake bay with twenty-eight ships of the line, and
that he had landed three thousand men who had joined
M. de la Fayette, so that Cornwallis, who found him-
self between the fleet and the land forces, was in dan-
ger of being captured. This news was received with
great joy by all the guests, French and Americans.
Li the evening the citizens assembled and proceeded
in a crowd to the hotel of the ambassador. During
the day, the regiment of Soissonnois had manoeuvred
before a crowd of the inhabitants, who seemed to ad-
mire the fine appearance of the soldiery and their

137

discipline. The tories could not avoid agreeing to it,
but they said that it was a regiment recruited in Eng-
land. The English had described us to the Americans
as pigmies.

On the 6th, the second division commenced its march.
M. Holker, the French consul at Philadelphia, took
me to dine at his country house, only three miles from
the city. We drank some excellent Burgundy wine,
which is very scarce beyond the sea. Several French
merchants were at this dinner.

On the 7th, after having breakfasted at the house of
our ambassador, I set out to rejoin the army, and lay
at Chester, after having crossed the vSchuylkill one
mile from Philadelphia, at the place wliere M. Tron-
9on-Du-Coudray, a well-known officer of artillery, who
had been sent to the Americans, was drowned in
crossing a ferry. At present there is a bridge. Chester
is a little village, five leagues from Philadelphia and
on the Delaware. The next day I started early and
lay at Wilmington, a village upon the Brandywine,
whereon an important battle was fought which has
retained its name. Thence, I went to dine at Christian
Bridge, where I did the honors of the public table to
some Americans with whom I drank toasts. At night,
I lay at the Head of Elk, where I found our army.
The country through which I had passed for two days
18

138

was, generally, barren and sandy, so that we were
covered with dust.

On arrivmg, I learnt that 1200 of the troops, of
whom a part were grenadiers and chasseurs, were to
embark for the purpose of joining the troops which M.
de Grasse had brought, and that I was to be on this
expedition. They were to embark on a little river
leading into Chesapeake bay ; the remainder of the
troops were to proceed by land to the appointed spot;
that is to say in front of York to which Cornwallis had
withdrawn.

On the 9th, I devoted myself to the embarkation.
On the 10th the boats provided to convey ua repaired
to Plumb Point, where the embarkation was easier, and
on the 11th they were on board. In company with
M. de Custine I got on board a small boat, in which
were smoe officers and fifty grenadiers. Cooking could
not be done on these boats and we had nothing but
some biscuits and cheese for the soldiers, and some
cold meats for us. On the 12th, in the morning, we
had not made much headway, the wind being contrary,
yet we entered Chesapeake bay on the sarpe morning.
At this point it is a league in breadth. This Chesa-
peake bay is a little Mediterranean, and some immense
rivers empty into it which bear the largest ships, such
as the Potomac. On the evening of the said day, the

139

12th, a storm of wind and rain came on, so that we
were compelled to anchor. We were cruelly tossed
about all night and almost everyone was sick. We
were then as high up as Annapolis and in sight of two
frigates and a cutter which the bad weather did not
allow us to join, and which we supposed to form apart
of M. de Grasse's squadron. Next day we had fine
weather and continued to advance ; but we were not
followed by the other boats, twenty in number. We
perceived a pretty strong boat coming towards us by
the use of oars ; we did not pay much attention to it,
when suddenly it tacked about and left us. We sus-
pected that it was a little pirate (there are many of
them in these parts) ; desiring to attack us it concluded
on approaching that we had too many people on board.
On the llth, we joined M. de Grasse's squadron and
M. de Custine, and I went on board of the Ville de
Paris which he commanded. He received us very well
and gave us dinner. We learnt that he had had an
engagement with the English squadron a few days
before. M. de Grasse had the advantage, but he did
not pursue the English because he was unwilling to
leave the Cliesapeake bay, the rather because he was
expecting the ships which M. de Barras was bringing
to him, and which we had left at Newport when the
army departed from that city in the month of June,

140

They might have been intercepted by the English, but
fortunately they joined M. de Grasse.

Two days afterwards, the squadron having left the
bay, two English frigates entered it to cut loose the
buoys of the squadron which had been left there;
they had not time to escape, and were captured upon
the return of the squadron.

M. de Grasse's squadron, after its junction with M.
de Barras, was composed of more than forty ships or
frigates. I saw several naval officers of my acquaint-
ance, and was on board of the Due de Bourgogne.
Then being in haste to land, I hired a little American
boat on which I embarked with M. de Lauberdiere,^
who had followed M. de Custine. We were to ascend
the James river and join M. de la Fayette, to inform
him of our arrival, and that I might prepare every-
thing that w^as necessary for the arrival of our troops.
There was some imprudence in embarking in so small
a boat and upon a very stormy river, and I heard it
mentioned to M. de Grasse who saw us start from his
stern-gallery. We had scarcely room to lie down in
this little boat, and we were in the open air. It rained
the next day, and we were penetrated to the skin.
Moreover the captain was very little acquainted with

All aide-de-camp to M. Rocliarabeau.

141

this river, and there were many sandbanks so that we
touched several times. At last, after having wandered
for a long time in an unknown river, we landed two
leagues from Williamsburg, where M. de la Fayette
was posted ; at least that is what a woman told us
whom we met. There was no house or place where
we landed, and we were compelled to go a long way
on foot. At length we arrived at a deserted house
where were two persons who let us in, but neither
furniture nor provisions. We lay upon the floor.
The next day, having hired horses, we proceeded to
Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia. It consists of
only a single street, but very broad and very hand-
some. Two or three public buildings, pretty large,
are also to be seen there. We got in at the quarters
of M. de la Fayette, where I found M. de Chastellux,
who had arrived the evening before, with M. de Roch-
ambeau and M. de Washington. They had got
in advance by making forced marches across Mary-
land and Virginia. This latter province is General
Washington's birthplace ; he has there a very hand-
some dwelling-house, where he received our two
generals : he had not been in his own country since
the beginning of the war. A body of Americans under
the command of M. de la Fayette were encamped near
Williamsburg. Tbree French regiments, which M.

142

de Grasse had brought, were joined to them, forming
a body of 3000 men. They were the regiments of
Gatinois, d' Agenois and Touraine. I found among
my acquaintances the Count d' Autichamp, who com-
manded one of the regiments ; he spoke much to me
of my uncle, settled in St. Domingo, with whom he
was connected. From this day, I set to work, although
without a piece of paper or an employee or a bag of
Hour at my disposal ; I was completely overwhelmed,
which I still rememlDer now that I am copying this
thirteen years afterwards. The Baron de Steuben, a
German general officer in the service of America, gave
a great dinner to our generals, and I went to it. The
next day the French and American generals, went
on board of the YiUe de Paris to see M. de Grasse. I
sent a note to M. de Rochambeau to obtain some sup-
plies from the navy in wines, flour, &c. On the 17th
and the following days I worked much with M. de la
Fayette, who was pleased to assist me in providing for
our troops. It is difficult to employ more order, pa-
tience and integrity in the discussion of business
matters ; he reminded me of Scipio African us in Spain ;
as young and as modest as he, he already had the
reputation of a skilful warrior ; for the last campaign
which he had just made, whilst sustaining himself
against Cornwallis with inferior forces, had procured
him much glory, and justly so.

143

On the 21st and 22d my work Avas doubled ; I caused
ovens to be constructed, but I was in want of tools and
I had to run about much and negotiate to obtain even
a hammer. Our generals came and deposited with
me 800,000 livres in piasters, which M. de Grasse had
brought for us. The grenadiers and chasseurs also ar-
rived; everybody applied to me for bread, vehicles
and all possible necessaries. I was alone and had not
a single employee to assist me. On the 2od I was sick,
owing to fatigue ; I had spent part of the previous
nights on my feet. In the evening I threw myself on
a bed ; fortunately two employees arrived who made
a report to me and to whom I gave orders from my
bed. During the night, as I was more oppressed than
drowsy, the floor of the chamber adjoining that in
which I was suddenly broke in pieces with a great
noise. This accident proceeded from the money which
I had deposited there ; it was on the ground floor and
underneath was a cellar, fortunately not very deep :
the floor, being too weak, had been unable to bear
the weight of these 800,000 livres in silver. My ser-
vant, who lay in this room, fell down the length of a
beam, but was not hurt.

At last, on the 25th, the intendant arrived, as well
as M. de Villemanzy, the commissary of war. In the
evening we had a conference with M. de Rochambeau ;

144

we were then in the greatest anxiety on the subject
of subsistence. The country in which we were was
exhausted by the Americans and laid waste by the En-
gUsh ; and our troops which had made forced marches
could not be followed by the magazines. A vessel
forming a part of M. de Barras's squadron was an-
chored near to us, laden with flour which it had been
to procure at Baltimore or Annapolis, for the squadron.
I persuaded M. de Rochambeau to ask M. de Villebrun,
who commanded this vessel, and with whom we were
all well acquainted, to spare us a part of this flour; I
undertook to draw up the letter and it had the desired
success. I note it because M. de Rochambeau, often
fearing to compromise himself, had on this occasion a
sort of repugnance to writing, and this feeling was
often injurious to him.

On the 27th, M. de Chastellux had a very lively
and very unbecoming scene with M. Daure, the steward
of provisions, because there was only bread for two
days, whilst he had announced enough of it for four,
when M. de Chastellux had to commence his march
the next day. I do not like this steward, nor, in
general, the superintendent of the provisions, who is
too pretentious and often hinders business by his scru-
pulous formalities. But, at present, M. Daure was
not at all in the wrong; without vehicles, without

145

wood, in a country absolutely stripped of everything,
where it was necessary to create everything, it was
impossible for him to do better; and M. de Chastellux
was not only unjust at that time, but he had not the
manner of a philosopher or of a man of quality.

On the 2Stli, the French and American troops came
in front of Yorktown, four leagues from Williamsburg,
where Cornwallis had shut himself up with his whole
army. They took post half a league from the city and
invested it, which was done without opposition. I
remained at Williamsburg, where our principal esta-
blishments were, and where it was often necessary to
provide for the service of the hospitals : I had 300 sick
persons and a single employee; of these 300 sick, 10
officers were harder to please than all the rest.

October, 1781. I learnt that some reconnaissances
had already been made in front of York. M. Drouillet,
an officer of the regiment of Agenois, was wounded
there, and a hussar of Lauzun's legion was killed. The
English also abandoned some redoubts without resist-
ance. On the 3d, I was five miles from Williamsburg
at Trubell Landing to witness the landing of our heavy
artillery, and some other effects which we were im-
patiently expecting. To day a body of "English troops
which occupied Gloucester, opposite to York, desired
to prevent M. de Lauzun and M. de Choisy, who com-
19

146

manded at this point, from occupying a position where
they wished to encamp. M. de Lauzun charged them
with the cavahy of the legion and drove them back ;
it was Tarleton, a partizan, very well known in Ame-
rica, who commanded the English ; he was wounded
and thrown from his horse and had 50 men killed or
wounded. We lost 3 men and 11 were wounded, 3
of whom were officers, among whom was M. de Dillon.

I learnt these details on the 4th, on going to the
camp ; but I was obliged to return the same evening.
It was already cold and I made a fire on the 5th. I
learnt that the English admiral Digby, who was ex-
pected from Europe with a strong squadron, had ar-
rived with only three vessels, two of which were in a
bad condition. We also learnt that the English had
a vessel so much damaged in the last engagement with
M. de Grasse, that they had been compelled to aban-
don it and burn it at sea. M. de Grasse, nevertheless,
spoke with much modesty of this engagement, and I
heard him say that it was only an encounter between
two advanced guards.

On the 6th, I went to the camp in the evening. The
trenches were open on this same day. I trembled lest
it should be murderous, for we had not the means to
afford assistance! I spent the evening with some
officers of the artillery and of the engineers, who were

147

awaiting the result. At nine o'clock, a pretty brisk
fire was commenced at the attack of the left. There
we had an artillery officer dangerously wounded and
also six grenadiers wounded. On the right there was
a soldier wounded. I visited the ambulance and an
especial depot which I had placed near the trenches,
to which I had gone as near as possible. I saw the
city perfectly well and the English flag which was float-
ing upon the intrenchments.

On the 7th, I returned in the evening to Williams-
burg and continued to attend to the hospital which
was becoming filled. It is nothing to see the unfor-
tunate when we can render them assistance ; but it is
cruel to be unable to aid them, and this is what I ex-
perienced. The effects and the employees of the hos-
pitals had not yet arrived, and they could not have
arrived, owing to the forced marches which we had
made, half by land and half by water. We might at
least have been able to land the effects indispensable
for the service. I had made the remark. But the
generals rarely listen to the administrators, when they
do not themselves possess the spirit of foresight.

I learnt on the 8th that we had had only 5 or 6
men wounded in the trenches.

On the 9th we commenced discharging our batteries
at night; on the 10th, in the morning, the fire became

148

very brisk and was kept up all day ; we had artillery
of the first class, and the Americans, for their part, had
large cannons and displayed great activity; but they
did not approach the perfection of our gunners, who
were the admii-ation of General Washington ; it is true
they had perfect instruments, so to speak ; the cannons
were new and the balls perfectly suited to their calibre.

In busying myself to-day about something connected
with my employment, I had occasion to enter the
trenches, in a place where a mortar-battery had
been established, which was firing upon one of the
redoubts of the enemy ; it replied with some howitzers
which did no damage. I mounted this trench with
M. de St. Simon, who commanded it, and to whom I
had occasion to write, some days before, a pretty de-
cided letter; we exchanged some friendly explanations.
Some deserters from the enemy came to us, who told
us that our fire greatly annoyed the English. According
to their account, it was suspected that Cornwallis de-
sired to escape ; it would have been possible for him
to do so by passing, during the night, across to
Gloucester, but where would he have gone ? He had
a long journey to make to reach Carolina, where the
English held some places ; he ran the risk of perishing
from want.

Next day, the Ijlth, our batteries set fire to an En-
glish ship of 44 guns.

149

During the night of the 11th -12th, they made
the second parallel, which caused the wounding of
only two or three men. I was at Williamsburg, al-
ways busy about our sick men ; I had four hundred
of them and thirteen othcers. Besides there was always
the same want of assistance ; they required of me sup-
plies for the ambulance, for M. de Choisy's division,
encamped in front of Gloucester; I found myself in
the most cruel embarrassment and on the eve of seeing
the service fail which was especially entrusted to me.
And that would have happened if we had not had at
this period from two to three hundred wounded ; that
might be. Therefore I could not think without dis-
tress of M. de Chastellux's remarks, of whom I had
required vehicles from the North river, only for carry-
ing some effects, at the rate of 250 sick persons —
" We shall not have fifty sick ! " And already at the
beginning of the siege w^e had four hundred of them.
Fortunately I had procured some assistance, on my
own account, which allowed me to wait a little. At
last, on the loth, some supplies reached me wdiich I
made haste to send off for the army. I went thither
myself and lay in the tent of my friend La Cheze.
There was much firing during this night and twenty-
three wounded men were carried to the ambulance.
I again returned to the trenches, in a battery from

150

which we discovered very plainly all York river, Glou-
cester, the English buildings and three of our ships
which formed the entrance to the river.

In the evening we carried, by main force, two
redoubts, which were captured in an instant, one by
the French, the other by the Americans. The former
were commanded by the Baron de Viomenil, having
under him the younger M. de Deux Fonts ; the latter
by M. de la Fayette, having under him M de Gimat,
an American colonel, a Frenchman by birth. We lost
during our attack about 30 men killed and 60 wounded,
of whom three were officers of the regiment of Gatinois
and M. de Lameth, assistant quarter master general
and nephew of Marshal de Broglie. I spent two or
three hours at the ambulance in the midst of these
wounded, a part of whom I despatched to Williams-
burg. At this time I had more than five hundred
sick, of whom twenty were officers.

I received some details respecting the attack upon
the two redoubts. Our soldiers displayed great courage
and liveliness. The English had about two hundred
men in the redoubt attacked by the French ; they
made one or two charges before abandoning it, leaving
only thirty men in it, who surrendered at the instant
when our party penetrated into the fort. The Ame-
ricans met with less resistance than we and lost only
six men.

151

On the 16 th, I intended to go to the camp and to
dine with General Washington, who had invited me,
but many wounded men reached me, which compelled
me to remain at Williamsburg. They had been in a
sortie which the English had made on the night of the
15th-16th, and in which at first they had been suc-
cessful. They spiked four cannons and took a captain
of the regiment of Agenois prisoner, but our troops
soon rallied and the English were repulsed. Our works
were nevertheless continued vigorously; we fired upon
the English by ricochet, which greatly annoyed them,
and they might have feared being captured sword in
hand. Therefore, on the 17th, at noon, they asked
to capitulate and the firing ceased. M. de la Cheze
had the kindness to send me word of it immediately;
I greatly rejoiced at it as a citizen, and also for this
especial reason, that I perceived in this capitulation
the end of our uneasiness respecting the service of the
hospitals. There were still some difhculties respecting
the articles of the capitulation ; they even recommenced
firing. At last, on the next day, the 18th, at noon,
everything was concluded. Cornwallis surrendered
as prisoner of war with all his troops, amounting to a
body of 8000 men. It was not until the next day,
the 19th, that they defiled in front of our troops and
the Americans. Cornwallis said that he was sick and

152

did not appear. The general who commanded in his
stead wished to give up his sword to M, de Rocham-
beau, but he made a sign to him that he ought to
address himself to General Washington. The English
displayed much arrogance and ill humour during this
melancholy ceremony ; they particularly affected great
contempt for the Americans. Being detained else-
where by our service, I was unable to be present at this
spectacle, which would have greatly interested me.

On the 21st, I went to see the city of York. I
visited our works and those of the English ; I perceived
the effect of our bombs and balls. I made this visit
with M. de Viomenil, who had been to see Cornwallis,
who had not yet appeared ; he had even sent a refusal
to Mr. Washington, who had invited him to dinner.
M. de Viomenil invited him, and the English general
accepted. M. de Viomenil invited me to this dinner,
but having accepted an invitation to M. de Chastel-
lux's, I was obliged for this day to decline. I regretted
that I could not be present at this first meeting of
Cornwallis with the French and American generals.
He behaved well there and praised our troops, espe-
cially the artillery, which he said was the first in
Europe.

M. de Rochambeau had gone to-day on board of
the Ville de Paris to see M. de Grasse for the purpose

153

of thanking him and conferring with him ; it is certain
that we were greatly indebted to him. Bat it was
time for the siege to end. M. de Grasse spoke of going
away.

M. de Lauzun was entrusted by M. de Rochambeau
with the carrying of the news of the capture of York
to France and he embarked on the same day on the
Surveillante. I saw him at the moment of his de-
parture ; he perceived me, got off his horse and asked
me what were my commands for France.

The English and Hessian troops, prisoners of
war, also left the camp ; they were very fine-looking
men. There was also a battalion of English grenadiers
of great height and good appearance. The remainder
of the English were small ; there were some Scotch
troops, strong and good soldiers. They proceeded
towards Williamsburg. I went to visit their camp ;
I saw them make their soup, go for wood, etc. The
Germans preserved order and a certain discipline ; on
the contrary, there was very little order among the
English, who were proud and arrogant. There was
no call for this ; they had not even made a handsome
defense, and, at this very moment, were beaten and dis-
armed by peasants who were almost naked, whom they
pretended to despise and who, nevertheless, were tlieir
conquerors.

154

Nothing new occurred until the liTth. Our troops
were still at York and its vicinity. Cornwallis dined
with General Washington and, successively, with all the
French generals. On the 24th, M. de Deux Fonts set
out for France on board of a frigate ; he was charged
by M. de Rochambeau to transmit to the ministry the
statement of the corn which he demanded for the army.
He required of the intendant a memoir for M. de Vil-
lemanzey and me and added to the note which the in-
tendant had given me " an accomplished person of the
greatest distinction. "

The weather changed from cold to warm ; but the
temperature was much milder than that of Rhode
Island. The climate of Virginia is much more tem-
perate.

At this time the regiments which M. de Grasse had
brought with him from our island reembarked.

There was smiie conversation between the French
and American officers. These latter seemed displeased
at the civility shown to the English prisoners, who,
for their part, were \ery attentive to us. The quarrel
also arose from the fact that the French were forbid-
den to purchase some goods that were in York,
whilst liberty to do so had been allowed to the Am-
ericans ; undoubtedly, the motive was that the latter,
being in want of everything and badly paid, had

155

been desirous of being allowed to buy merchandise
cheaply.

Novemher. The last of October and the first days of
November were fine ; the nights were cool, with white
frost; but by day the sun shone and it was even fine.
At the same period last year at Newport we had snow
and very sharp cold.

The troops went into winter quarters on the first of
November. Part remained at York; the remainder
came to Newport ^ where M. de Rochambeau estab-
lished his head quarters. I secured a very pretty
lodging there, where I settled myself with my friend
La Cheze. We kept a very good house there ; and
altogether we led a very pleasant and quiet life, but
not very fruitful in events. Therefore my journal is
about to become barren.

M. de Grasso had sailed on the 4th, and the frigate
which conveyed M. de Deux Fonts, having been de-
layed for some time, went away on tlie 1st.

On the 2 2d a pavilion took fire, which was attached
to the hospital for the officers, then amounting to
twenty-two, of whom several were severely wounded.
We had time to remove them elsewhere without any
accident and lost only a few goods. This pavilion

I In Viri^iuia.

156

was distant only 5 or 6 toises from the large hospital
which, fortunately, was not reached.

Decemher, 1781. Another fire broke out a short dis-
tance from the American hospital, which was burnt
up in a short time. A sick soldier perished.

January, 1782. The weather grew warm from the
early part of January and seemed to announce the
spring.

On the 5th, we learnt the capture of St. Eustacia by
the Marquis de Bouille. The arrival of Monsieur de
la Mothe-Piquet at our islands and ten ships also men-
tioned. This event and these new circumstances
seems to promise us the peace which we began to desire.

On the 7th, the French frigate la Sibelle anchored
at the entrance of the bay. Having left Brest in the
end of October, she met near the Bermudas with a
French vessel which had informed her that the French
army was in Virginia. She was entrusted with two
millions for us : she brought the news of the birth of
a dauphin. On the same day letters reached us from
Philadelphia, announcing the sending of a French
corps of 4000 men to Minorca, to capture that island,
jointly with the Spaniards. On the 10th we received
our letters which came by the Sibelle.

The sudden changes of the weather in this province,
as in the north, must be injurious to agriculture^ for

157

instance, it does not seem to me possible in such a
climate to have olive trees and vines, which the
warmth of the summer would recommend to the cul-
tivator. We had cold weather on the 5th and the
9th ; my ink and my wine froze in my chamber,
where I had fire continually ; the next day we some-
times had 16° above zero.

February, 17S2. At this period I finished a great
many letters and transmitted them to the Baron de
Viomenil, who was preparing to start for France with
some officers on board of the frigate Hermione. She
set sail on the 2d, at the same time with the frigate
Diligente, commanded by M. de Clumard who pro-
ceeded to Boston and who ran aground owing to the
fault of the pilot. M. de Clumard succeeded, with
great difficulty, in saving himself and his crew ; twenty-
three sailors or soldiers perished from cold and fatigue ;
the vessel gradually disappeared and it was impossible
to save anything from it.

March. The news of the capture of the island of
Saint Christopher by M. de Grasse, which was spread
for some time past, was confirmed. Two engagements
between M. de Grasse and Admiral Hood, in which
w^e had the advantage, were also mentioned.

The weather had the same successions of cold, snow,
light rain and very fine weather.

158

M. de la Luzerne arrived at Williamsburg on the
25th ; I received him at dinner. He had just learnt
from some English papers that a great convoy which
had set out from Brest, escorted by M. de Guichen,
had been scattered by a gale of wind and that the
English had captured a part of them ; M. de Guichen
had been compelled to return to Brest, which must
have greatly delayed the projected attack upon
Jamaica.

April. The first days of the month were fine. I
made a voyage to York. We had some letters which
gave us no interesting news, except from our families.
My wife and children were well.

May. No occurrences. The heat began to increase.
We received news of some en«;ati'ements between M.
de Grasse and Rodney on the 9th and 18th of April;
but the truth gradually came to light. M. de Roch-
ambeau, relying upon a worthless newspaper of
Grenada, at first had cannons fired in token of victory.^

June. But about the 20th of June we learnt that,
on the contrary, we had met with a defeat and that
the ViUe de Paris had fallen into the hands of the

' I h;ne l)efore nie the Broadside which gives the details of
the supposed victory. It is dated at Martinique, le 17 Avril,
1782 and is headed in hirge capitals, Detail du Combat Naval

DE M. LE COMTE DE GrASSE AVEC l'AdMIEAL RoDNEY.

159

English.^ I had one of the severe heart-aches to which
I am subject.

At this period we prepared to set out for the North
river, after being in winter quarters for eight months.
The heat kept up between 28° and 30° from the be-
ginning of June.

On the 23d of June, the first division of the army
began its march.

July. I only started on the 4th of July with the
fourth division, consisting of the regiment of Saintonge
and a detachment of artillery, the whole under the
command of M. de Custine. Baltimore was the point
of reunion for all the troops. Our corps stopped and
encamped on the first day at a place called Drinking
spring, only nine miles from Williamsburg. The
country is like the environs of this last mentioned city,
that is to say, it is dry and covered with wood. We
met with nothing there but Indian corn, apple trees
and some peach trees. I saw very little tobacco there,
although this is the chief production of Virginia, and
the part which we were traversing, situated between
the James river and the York river, is renowned for

' 1 have elsewhere cited the account of this disastrous battle
as given by Count de Grasse. It is in the Archives of the French
Navy Department and inscribed Jfe»iO /res c?« C orate de Grasse,
Nos. 15, 186 and 6, 397.

160

this crop ; as to wheat, I saw only one field of it in
Virginia.

On the 15th, we lay at Bird's Tavern. The country
seemed to me to be still worse. I was pretty well
lodged. I was billeted at the house of some Americans,
who received us by private contract. This is contrary
to their laws and usages ; but, generally, they submit,
with pretty good grace, to this unpleasant duty. As
yet I had no sick persons ; I was ordered to receive
not only those of my division, but also the sick of the
troops which marched in advance and who were left
for me.

On the 6th, we stopped at Ratelof House. The
country is still barren and sandy. On the 7th, we
encamped at New Kent ; it is not a village but the
center of some scattered houses, distant from each
other, in a county. I lodged at the house of a colonel
whom I found rather unfriendly, like all my hosts ;
the women also seemed to me very unsociable. All
these people lead rather a dull life, not knowing how
to employ or amuse themselves. The dwelling of this
colonel, moreover, was handsome enough and built upon
a hill, with an agreeable prospect which is rare in
Virginia, where the country is flat. A branch of the
York river runs below the house, in a valley where it
would be possible to form meadows ; but all that is not

161

understood by the Virginians. This valley is also
watered by the Pamunky, a small river which resem-
bles that of France and likewise empties into York
river.

I have mentioned that we lodged in the houses of
the Americans ; but we only asked them for shelter.
Every one took with him his provisions, his utensils,
a bed and sheets and we put our hosts to no expense.
For my own part I had two wagons or covered vehicles,
drawn by good horses, and was in want of nothing.
At any rate this kind of life was not displeasing to me.
After having been on the road all morning, I spent the
evening alone and quiet, often in handsome houses,
given up to my reflections and happy in my own way.

On the 8th, after a long and painful march, we
reached Newcastle ; our division encamped and re-
mained there. The Pamunky flows alongside of this
village. The Count de Viomemil, who had stopped
there with the third division, gave a ball. He was
lodged in the house of a resident who had a handsome
dwelling and who derived a great profit from a stallion
which was valued at two thousand guineas.

On the 5th, we reached Hanovertown, only five

miles from Newcastle. This city is situated in a plain

agreeable enough and of a pleasant appearance, where

some handsome dwellings were seen. The principal

162

crops still consist of Indian corn and I saw no other
products there. I except a small quantity of ordinary
hemp. There are in this county some rich proprietors,
having a great number of negroes. In fact, the inhabit-
ants of these southern provinces do not cultivate their
estates themselves, like those of the north ; they have
negro slaves, like our colonists in our islands, and they
themselves lead an idle life, giving themselves no con-
cern about anything except their table. In general,
they are not equal to the people of the north, as re-
gards morals and honesty, and in some respects they
are two different peoples.

On the 11th, we arrived at Hanover Court-House.
I made the journey by night. In the morning, as it
began to grow light, I was struck by the beauty of
five or six trees, grouped together on the bank of the
Pamunky. I dismounted to measure them and exa-
mine them more attentively. They were twenty feet
in circumference and about eighty feet high, and also
straight and of handsome proportions. These trees,
the handsomest that I have seen in America, were
tulip trees.

On the 12th, an encamping at Brunksbridge. It
had rained in the night so that we were not very
warm. The country here is less cultivated and
less cleared than in other parts of Virginia. So the

163

habitations are rarer and poorer there. I was lodged
in a house situated in the midst of the woods and
where there are some very handsome fir-trees. I had
not yet seen any in America of this height ; in the
vicinity of Williamsburg the fir tree is common enough ;
but it is of moderate height. I saw also in this place
some handsome oaks, some fruit trees and especially
peach trees ; the roads are fine and solid.

On the 13th, we are at Bowling Green, a dry and
barren country, as usual. Near our encampment is a
handsome house, with terraced gardens and some arti-
ficial meadows in the vicinity. I saw clover mowed
by some negro slaves, as I have mentioned. The
dwelling house which we see has not less than eighty ;
the species greatly multiplies there. The children,
boys and girls, go naked until ten or twelve years
old ; the others have nothing but a shirt or some
miserable rags.

On the 14th, we encamped twelve miles from Fred-
ericksburg. I walked in the surrounding woods ; this
country seemed to me below mediocrity, wherefore it is
thinly inhabited.

On the 15th, our division passed through the city
of Fredericksburg without stopping there ; it crossed
the Rappahanock river to go and encamp on the other
side, that is to say at Falmouth ; this town is not

164

much, but Fredericksburg is considerable. The Rap-
pahanock is not very broad, very nearly as the Seine
at Paris. We could ford it there : but for fear of ac-
cident all the vehicles were transported upon ferry-
boats, which are large and very convenient in Ame-
rica.

Mr. Washington's mother and sister reside at Fred-
ericksburg. Our generals and several officers visited
them. I left a hospital establishment at Falmouth ;
we had sixty sick men there. To-day, the 15th, I
dined at M. de Custine's. I mention it because he
was lodged in a handsome house, situated upon a hill
from which we perceived the course of the Rappahan-
ock and the cities of Falmouth and Fredericksburg
which made up a pretty brilliant prospect rather rare
in America.

On the 17th, the division marched ; they encamped
near a tavern called Peton's Tavern ; the road to it
is hilly, in a barren country. I went to lodge three
miles beyond the camp in a place where the country
was more agreeable. The house where I was is sit-
uated in a valley where there was an orchard planted
symmetrically ; the apple trees in it were covered with
fruit.

On the 18th we came to Dumfries, a little town sit-
uated two leagues from the Potomac and which is

165

watered by one of its branches. I was lodged in the
house of a young Irishwoman, twenty-six years old and
pretty handsome ; she told me that her name was
Margaret '•'• * * and that she was of the ftimily of this
name, settled in France and that she had a brother,
John * * * in the French regiment of Walsh, Her
husband, * '•■' ''' * * '^' was a Scotchman ; she
seemed far from being rich, although well lodged.
I found her manners easy and European. She did
not come to America until she was seventeen years
old and she seemed to desire to leave it. In the even-
ing I introduced to her one of her fellow countrymen,
an Irish priest, the Abbe Lacy, the chaplain of our
hospital, whom she received very well.

The weather was cooler ; it seems to me that from
this part we begin to feel a difference in the tempera-
ture which perhaps arises from the country's being
mountainous and intersected by numerous rivers.

On the 19th we encamped at Colchester after having
crossed the Occoquon, which is a branch of the Poto-
mac. This town is small and miserable as well as the
country. A horse had been stolen from me at Dum-
fries. I strongly suspected the people of my amiable
Irishwoman, about whom I learnt nothing good, any
more than about her husband, who is considered an
adventurer. The woman is accused of some gallantries,

166

which is rare in America ; besides, she was born in
Europe.

On the 20th we stopped at Alexandria, a city
situated upon the Potomac, where ships of fifty guns
can approach. This city is perfectly well situated for
becoming commercial. Therefore they have built
much there ; it may become considerable, still ii is not
much. General Washington's residence, that in which
he was born, is situated between Colchester and Alex-
andi'ia. Mrs. Washington had arrived there the even-
ing before. She invited M. de Custine, who commanded
the division to which I was attached, to go and dine
at her house with some officers. He proposed to me
to go thither and we proceeded thither, to the number
of ten persons. Mrs. Washington is a woman of about
fifty years of age ; she is small and fat, her appearance
is respectable. She was dressed very plainly and her
manners were simple in all respects ; she had with her
three other ladies, her relations. As to the house it
is a country residence, the handsomest that I have yet
seen in America, it is symmetrically built and has two
stories, counting the false roofs, wherein some pretty
chambers have been constructed. All the rooms are
furnished w4th taste.

There are in the places around, many huts for the
negroes, of whom the general owns a large number,

167

who are necessary to him for his large possessions,
which are supposed to amount to ten thousand acres
of land. (The acre is very nearly of the same extent
as our arpent.) Among these some of good quality is
found, and I have observed some of it of this sort. A
large part is woodland, where Mr. Washington, before
the war, enjoyed the pleasure of the chase, which had
inclined him to the military life which he has since
led. The environs of his house are not fertile and
the trees that we see there do not appear to be large.
Even the garden is barren. What decided the gen-
eral's parents to choose this dwelling place is the sit-
uation which is very handsome. The Potomac flows
at the foot of the garden and the largest ships of war
can anchor there. It has difierent branches of a kind
of bays and in this place is about half a league broad.
The whole make a very agreeable prospect. The
opposite shore needs rather more houses and villages.
Taken all together, it is a handsome residence and
worthy of General Washington. In the evening, we
left her respectable company after having spent a very
agreeable and truly interesting day.

On the 21st, we crossed the Potomac ; the camp
was placed at Georgetown, a small town, wherein
many German families are found. We then leave
Virginia and enter Maryland.

168

On the 22d, an encampment at Bladensburg ; this
town is small, but agreeably situated and surrounded
by meadows; there are some handsome houses built
upon the hill. I was very well lodged in the house of
the judge of the place, named William Anderson ; he
had a handsome family with whom I took tea. On the
23d, we received the bad news of the capture of one of
our convoys bound to the Indies and of two ships
which were escorting it. We were all distressed at it,
we saw peace still remote.

On the 25th, encampment at Rose Tavern. A march
through a country more cultivated than in Virginia,
but still middling. I lodge at the house of a very rich
resident named Major Smoden. His wife invited me
to dine and seemed to me genteel, with the air of a
good education, although she had never left her own
country ; she had a daughter equally Avell bred. I
taught them some words of French. The husband
did not come until the evening ; I also supped with
them. A piece of ham was served up to us, as at dinner.
They informed me that they eat it at breai^fast,
dinner and supper. Indeed bacon is very common in
all this region and is very good food. Major Smoden's
house is situated near a little river called the Patuxet,
which we crossed yesterday at a ford.

On the 24th, encampment at Spurier's Tavern. All

169

this country is bad and the buildings indicate poverty.
To-day, after dinner, I saw a humming- bird very dis-
tinctly. I knew that they were in North America,
and several persons had already seen them ; but this
was the first for me. I easily recognized it from the
description that had been given to me ; its small size,
its quickness, its beak and its colors are remarkable ;
it makes a noise in Hying and at first one might sup-
pose that he saw that insect which is called chmoiselle
in some provinces of France. The}^ are not larger; it
has also a peculiar way in flying, that is to stop sud-
denly without moving its wings. I also saw it place
itself upon a shrub and very near me; finally I had
the pleasure of seeing it for a long time.

On the 27th, we arrived at Baltimore, where we
stopped, as likewise all the army. This city is situ-
ated upon a creek which leads to the bay ; it is com-
mercial. After Boston and Philadelphia it is the
most important city of America. From thirteen to
fourteen hundred houses and from eight to nine thou-
sand inhabitants are counted there. They are build-
ing much there and this city will become tiourishing.
We had caused all our sick men, as well from York as
from Williamsburg, to be transported to it by sea ; we
also brought a certain number of them, so that I was
22

170

obliged to establish a pretty considerable hospital, a
part of which was made of boards.

August, 1782. It is said that peace is seriously con-
sidered. The English then sent back a large number
of American prisoners. In the meanwhile, M. de
Vaudreuil, coming from St. Domingo, appeared in
these seas with thirteen ships of the line and, after
having cruised for some time, he brought to Boston
five vessels laden with wheat and masts which he had
taken from the English ; but one of his ships of war
ran aground on entering the harbor of Boston and
was entirely lost. The frigate I'Emeraude, coming
from Newport to York, captured an English brig. All
our heavy artillery left at York was brought to Balti-
more, where we found ourselves all reunited ! But this
was for a short time, Mr. Washington having insisted,
notwithstanding the rumor of peace, that the army
should make a movement. In consequence, M. de
Luzern set out on the 23d of August and proceeded
towards Philadelphia. The other divisions had orders
to follow and to set out successively. I was attached
to the last, which started on the 27th, which gave me
a little time to recover from a tertian fever, of which
I had a violent attack during our stay at Baltimore.
I have, therelbre, few notes respecting this city and
what occurred while we remained there. These

171

fevers, moreover, were very prevalent in our arinj at
this time and I believe that Baltimore is unhealthy,
especially in the low part which I occupied and which
borders on tlie marshes. I ought not to forget to
mention that our troops were admired l)y the inhabit-
ants of Baltimore for their handsome bearing and their
manoeuvres, and, indeed, I was surprised myself that,
after a march, so painful owing to the dust and the
great heat, they found themselves in so good a condi-
tion. I have not seen a better review at the camp of
Compeigne. We had been in America nearly two years
and our soldiers had become stronger ; we had not a
recruit, for the men who had been sent to us from
Europe were all disciplined and drawn from old regi-
ments. At one manoeuvre a gun happened to be
loaded with a bullet and a woman had her thigh
Avounded. She was an Acadian, about thirty years of
age ; she was well attended to and her wound was not
serious. I remark, on this occasion, that there is at
Baltimore a quarter entirelj- composed of Acadian
families, where they speak nothing but French.

On the 27th we started and encamped twelve miles
from Baltimore at Great Falls; I made the journey
in a cabriolet, being still very weak.

On the 28th, a station at Burchtown. The country
since leaving Baltimore is very thickly wooded and

172

little cleared ; we see upon the road many brooks and
ponds which serve to keep some foundries going ; there
are some districts of handsome wood ; in another, it
has been cut down, but it does not spring up again.

On the 29th, our division reached the banks of the
Susquehannah, a river which empties into the Cliesa-
peake bay ; it is two miles broad at this place, so that
all our vehicles could not cross it in the ferry boat on
the same day and we were obliged to remain at this
place. This river is usually crossed at a ford, two
leagues above the place where we were ; but this
passage is not free from difficulty and danger. It has
been proposed to build a city on the right bank and
near the ferry where we crossed it. It should be called
Havre de Grace.

On the 31st, station at the Head of Elk, a town sit-
uated upon a small river which empties into the bay
exactly at its extremity. It is there that I embarked
when we proceeded towards York. Elk is in a very
dry soil ; one is drowned with dust there. Fever is
very prevalent there, doubtless caused by the swamps
in the vicinity.

September, 1782. On the 1st of September we en-
camped at Newport, a small town situated on a creek,
which communicates with the Delaware and is navi-
gable. Newport is in the state of Delaware ; we

173

leave Maryland between this town and the Head of
Elk. This district is pretty well cultivated ; but the
land there is equally poor and sandy.

On the '2d, encampment at Chester, a small borough
situated on the Delaware, fifteen miles from Philadel-
phia and in Pennsylvania. Half way between New-
port and Chester we meet with Wilmington which be-
longs to Delaware, and where the assemblies of this
state are usually held. This city, built of Ijrick, a
mile from the Delaware, is as large as Williamsburg
and capable of growth. A mile from this city we
find the Brandywine, of which I have already spoken,
famous for the battle which the English gained there
over General Washington ; for he has lost some bat-
tles, but, like Colign}', he seemed greater after defeats
and has never been discouraged.

The Brandywine is also remarkable for its large
water mills, which the grain of Pennsylvania supports.
In this district, and especially below Chester, the Dela-
ware makes swamps of the water left by the sea upon
this shore, which is very low.

On the 3d we w^ere at Philadelphia. M. de la Lu-
zern, who was still there as ambassador of France,
offered me a lodging at his house, which I accepted ;
I remained there until the 5th.

On the 6th we proceeded to Trenton where the army

174

was concentrated into two divisions, instead of four.
I remained attached to the hist. I was not entirely
recovered from my Baltimore fevers ; therefore after
having run about and attended to my official duty, as
soon as I arrived at the lodging which was intended
for me, I rested and kept quiet. Thus, my journal
was almost laid aside. I will only say that we were
not far from New York. We marched in military
manner as far as the banks of the North river, where
we arrived on the 15th. I had some good lodging
places, and especially in [New] Jersey, where there
are many Dutch families. I lived alone there and
was happy. In this province, I also heard an inhabitant
mentioned, named Blanchard. It was then said that
M. de Sufiren had defeated the English in the Indian
ocean.

On the 16th, I crossed the North river and caused
my sick men, amounting to more than a hundred, to
be taken across. I placed them in the Peekskill
temple, where I had already established hospitals in
the previous year. In going to it, I passed near the
camp of the Americans, who then formed a body of
six thousand men ; ahnost all of them were clothed
and in uniforms ; their camp was adorned with leaves,
which presented an agreeable appearance.

Our troops also crossed the North river and the head

175

quarters were established at Peekskill. The American
troops were made to manoeuvre in our presence, and
they seemed very well drilled ; it was the work of five
or six months; for, a year ago, these troops were
utterly disorganized and without any sort of instruction.
This proves that we probably attach too much impor-
tance to our manoeuvres, especially certain colonels of
excessive zeal. It is Baron Steuben, a German by
birth and a general in the service of America, who
had contributed the m.ost to forming and exercising
the American troops.^

On the 20th we learnt that the Gloire, a frigate
coming from France, had happily arrived at Philadel-
phia. The Aigle, another frigate, which accompanied
her, under the command of M. Desouches, being
pursued by the English, had been desirous of going
through a place where the Gloire had not met with
any accident ; but, apparently, drawing more water,
she touched upon a sandbank and ran aground. They
had time to send the money and the passengers ashore ;
but the English captured the frigate, the crew and

' The Biography of Steuben {Lehen Von Steuben, Berlin, 1858),
and also that of de Kalb have been written by the Hon. Frederic
Kapp, member of the imperial German parliament, with rare
pains and impartiality. Translations of both of these interesting
books have been published at New York.

176

the captain. Considering the frigate too much dam-
aged, they set fire to it. The passengers who arrived
by this frigate were the Baron de Viomenil, the Duke
de Lauzun, and the Marquis de Laval, who had left
us after the siege of York, the Prince de Broglie, the
Marquis de Segur and some other young people of the
court, who came to America for the first time. Some
days before, the two frigates had had a glorious en-
gagement with a ship of seventy-four guns.

On the 2'2d, in the evening, we had our letters.
As to political news, always an uncertainty respect-
ing the peace ; some projects as to Gibraltar, the de-
parture of the Count d' Artois for this place and the
war of Geneva.

On the 24th, our army proceeded to Crampond,
about nine miles from Peekskill; that of General
Washington, being encamped upon the banks of the
North river, made no movement. I remained at
Peekskill, not being attached to the moving hospital
near the army, which was then near to Peekskill, to
have the sick forwarded to it.

Ocioher, 1782. The army remained in this position
about a month. Putting it in motion was several
times under consideration, and I believe that General
Washington desired it; he had the siege of New York
always in view, but he needed additional forces.

177

Finally, it was decided that our troops should ap-
proach Boston. It began to be said that we were
about to embark upon M. de VaudreuiTs squadron, and
proceed to the West Indies or some otlier point. This
idea caused a fermentation in men's minds and es-
pecially in mine ; for I desired nothing so much as to
go to Saint Domingo to see my uncle.

The first division left the camp of Cram pond on the
22d, and the second, on the following day. They
stopped at Salem, which is also in the province of
New York. I w^rite this on the 23d and the weather
is so fine that I am working in my shirt sleeves ; to
night I shall be obliged to put on garment over gar-
ment.

I had divined it, for it is very cold to-day, the 24 th.
I was obliged to get off my horse and walk on foot to
keep myself warm. At tlie end of some miles w^e
found ourselves in the road which I had passed over
eighteen months before We passed by Richbury and
stopped at Danbury ; it is a pretty large town where,
three or four years ago, the English committed great
disorders, which are still visible. There are some
pretty valleys in the neighborhood, some hills and
rocks which remind me of Pegou near Angers.

I believe that I ought to mention here a rather re-
m.arkable occurrence that happened to M. de Roch-

178

ambeau soon after his departure from Crampond. His
host, named Dehivan, who was said to be of French
origin, demanded a considerable compensation from
him for some damage that the army had done him by
encamping upon his property ; his demand was ex-
orbitant, it needed examination ; but this man was
unwiUing to wait, he comphxined to the judge of the
county and to the sheriff; the latter in coniormity with
the laws made his appearance to arrest M. de Roch-
ambeau and, for that purpose, touched him on the
shoulder. All those who w^re present desired to take
him away ; but M. de Rochambeau replied that he
would conform to the laws of the country and he de-
parted after giving security. However the plaintiff's
charges were examined and reduced to one-half by the
people of the country, but faithfully paid.^ This in-
cident shows the power of the law among the Ameri-
cans and the good temper of M. de Rochambeau. I
lodged at Salem in the house of the constable who ar-
rested M. de Rochambeau. I did not know it then ;
he received me very well and made me take tea with
him. He was a little old man, pretty lively. He had
a daughter, not handsome and very familiar; one
thing which shows this familiarity, but the American

' Paid by Rochambeau, we must understand.

179

manners at the same time, k, tliat having met her in
the kitchen, she told me that she had left her room
where the chimney smoked ; I proposed to her to
come into that which had been given to me. Slie
agreed to it and remained there for a long time ;
sometimes we conversed, at other moments she suffered
me to write and attend to my business.

On the 25th, our division proceeded to Newtown, a
small town which I have mentioned, situated upon a
hill whence the view is pretty agreeable. On the 27th,
we took up our march for Breakneck : 1 met again,
after more than a year, with all the places that I had
passed through.

On the 28th, at Baron's Tavern, in a tolerably fer-
tile valley which extends as far as Hartford. It is
one of the best parts of America ; so we found more
readily what we needed, for instance, straw.

On the 29th, my division stopped at Farmington,
and I proceeded to Hartford. There I saw M. de
Tarle, who confirmed to me the report of our approach-
ing embarkation upon M. de Vaudreuil's squadron, to
proceed to our colonies without a precise knowledge of
our destination. He told me that I would embark
with the troops and that they would give me another
commissary of war as assistant. M. de Rochambeau
also spoke to me to the same purpose,

180

On the 30th and 31st, the weather was frightful and
the rain continual. The army remained at Hartford.
I lodged at East Hartford, which is, in some sort, a
second city upon the left bank of the Connecticut
river. Tliis country is very populous and entirely
cleared ; the soil is also good, and yet I suspect that
the cultivation of it could be increased.

The army resumed its march on the 4th, in two
divisions; it stopped at Boston on the 5th, at Windham
on the 6th and at Canterbury on the 8th. On the
9th, the army proceeded to Watertown, where I saw
the inn, Dorancy Tavern, of which the Chevalier de
Chaste llux gives so handsome a description in his
travels, printed and well embellished. Moreover, the
two young ladies of whom he speaks were no longer
there and they both had houses of their own.

The inhabitants of this province, generally speaking,
are more affable and more lively than those of Virginia.
Our troops, upon arriving in their camp,

[Here there is a blank in the original manuscript.]

On the 11th we were at Providence, where I had
spent so much time in 1780 and 1781. The entire
army was quartered there until M. de Vaudreuil's
squadron, in which we were to embark, was ready.

The artillery went first and set out for Boston, where
it arrived on the 18th. I had already gone over this

181

road, which is a fiiio one ; we pass thereon through
different vilhxges and frequently meet with houses on
it ; yet the hxnd there is pretty middling ; it is the
cattle, whom they feed there partly with maize, and
some iron-works that make up the principal abundance
of the country.

The next day I dined at the house of the consul,
M. de I'Etombe. In the evening I was presented there
to M. de Vaudreuil, and I worked during a part of the
day with his son, the Chevalier de Yaudreuil, who
served him as major.

On the 21st, there was a dinner at which I was
present, given by Mr. Brick,^ a wealthy American to
M. de Vaudreuil and to several navy officers.

On the 22d I went to see the Commandeur Coriolis
d' Espinousse, a relation of my wife and the chief
of the squadron ; he was residing five or six miles
from Boston until his departure for France whither
his health obliged him to return.

The Count de Rochambeau had transferred the com-
mand of the army to the Baron de Viomenil and set
out on the first of December for Philadelphia, where
he was to embark to return to France. M. de Chas-

' I have not succeeded in ascertaining who was the gentleman
thus characterized as a " Brick."

182

tellnx also started. Our troops arrived at Boston suc-
cessively on the 3d, 4th and 5th of December ; and
they encamped in the order that they arrived. The
weather was very fine, so that Dr. Cooper, the pomp-
ous protestant clergyman whom I have mentioned be-
fore, said " Heaven smiles npon the troops of France."

We then learnt that the expedition against Gibral-
tar had been unsuccessful.

On the i2th, the members of the assembly of Bos-
ton ^ came to congratulate the Baron de Viomenil, who
received them in the midst of a large number of of-
ficers, of whom I was one. The spokesman, Mr.
Samuel Adams, a respectable old man, spoke very
spiritedly. His discourse and M. de Viomenil's reply
were inserted in the public papers. On the same day
the assembly gave a great dinner to M. de Viomenil
and the principal officers of the army. It was Mr.
Hancock, at that time the governor of the state, who
presided at it.

On the 13th, in company with M. de Viomenil, I
again went to see the Commandeur Coriolis d' Espi-
nousse. We were in a boat; but the wind became
so violent and contrary that we returned upon some
bad horses which they had the kindness to procure for

Massachusetts must be meant.

183

us in the district. Before reaching Boston we had to
cross an arm of the sea which was half a league wide.
It was so agitated that we were covered with water,
and it was so cold that the water froze upon us. We
were in danger, the water entered the boat in which
we were, which our afiVighted horses shook still more.
But, some daj^s afterw\ards, w^e returned thither to
dine. He was making preparations to return to
France, on board of a frigate wherein, upon my re-
commendation, he granted a passage to two persons.

We thought of starting on about the 20th ; but we
were still at Boston on the 2 2d, in consequence of
some delays. The 22d was a Sundaj- ; I mention it
because, having walked through the city, I saw no one
there. The inhabitants were in the temples or retired
in their own houses ; the}' do not allow the least re-
creation and do not visit. Moreover, this is the same
almost everywhere in America. At Providence some
amiable women, of a lively disposition, at whose houses
I called, were even unwilling to sing on Saturday
evening. In the month of September last, a pretty
singular occurrence befel me, on going from Philadel-
phia to the North river, which proves this great strict-
ness. Some officers came to see me on a Sunday and
I proposed to them to play a game of revereis ; the
mistress of the house where I w\as lodoin.o; entered the

184

room angrily and wished to snatch the cards from ns.
I had difficulty in quieting her and was obliged to
have her told by the chaplain of the hospital, an Irish
priest who spoke English, that it was not contrary to
the principles of our religion to play cards on Sunday.

Boston is reckoned to contain 25,000 inhabitants.
Its size is about that of Angers. The houses are
mostly of brick, the streets are pretty wide and well
laid out, especially the main street. There are also
some unsightly quarters which give Boston an appear-
ance less modern than Philadelphia and the other
cities of America.

I have already mentioned that several families of
the name of Blanchard are found there. One, very
rich, of French origin, went from Rochelle to America
after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Many
families belonging to Eochelle did the same i for there
is a village in New York entirelj' built by the Roch-
ellois. It is called New Rochelle.^ Our army was
pretty near to it m 1781 and several of our officers
went to it.

^ June 5, 1751. Joseph Shippeu (afterwards colonel and sec-
retary to the Province of Penn.) writes to his father, that
President Burr (of the College of Xew Jersey) advises him to
go to New Rochelle to pass some months for the puri^ose of
perfecting himself in French. 3IS. in the possession of Hon.
J. C. G. Kennedy of Washington.

185

At this time mention was made of a man who had
killed his wife and his children and afterwards him-
self. These crimes are rare in America and this was
the only one that I heard of during all my stay.

On the -3d of December 1782 I went on board of
the Triomphant, with M. de Viomenil, and on the 24th
the whole squadron, carrying the army, set sail and
left the harbor of Boston ; the channel is narrow
and has little depth ; so that we were not without un-
easiness. Our pilot liimself did not appear to be quite
composed and incessantly repeated '• to rig." How-
ever, we fortunately got through ; one only of the
transport ships, the Warwick, was shattered upon the
locks on setting sail ; happily, there were no troops
on board. We were to cruise as high up as Ports-
mouth, a pretty good port beyond Boston, where two
ships of war were which were to rejoin us and then to
cruise alongside of Rhode Island in order to meet with
the Fantasque, a vessel armed en Jlate, to the wind.
The bad weather changed these designs; we could
not, without danger, remain upon these coasts exposed
to being cast away upon them or driven upon sand
banks.

On the 27th, the frigate Iris left us, to proceed to
France. On the same day we lost sight of our convoy
and our frigate. Moreover, every vessel carried a
24

186

sealed package pointing out the general destination of
the squadron.

We thus found ourselves reduced to ten ships of

Guns

Commanders

The Triomphant,

M^.? de Vaudreuil,

The Coronne,

Mitton,

The Neptune,

Daltains,

The Northumberland,

Medine,

The Brave,

Damblimon,

The Souverain,

Glandeves,

The Bourgogne,

Champmartin,

The Due de Bourgogne,

Charette,

The Citoyen,

Dethis,

The Hercule,

ChV De Bros.

The vessels remaining at Portsmouth and which
were to start were the Auguste, of 80 guns, com-
manded by the Chevalier de Vaudreuil's brother, and
the Pluton, commanded by M. d' Albert de Riom ;
they had with them the Amazone, a frigate which M.
de r Aiguille, the brother of the major of the squad-
ron, commanded, and the Glairvoijante, Pache, com-
mander. The weather was so bad in the first days
that it wiis impossible for me to write, the rather as I
had not a room and slept with thirty officers in the

187

main cabin. 1 ate also at M. de Vaudreuil's table
where we had ten or twelve. The rolling was so
great during the first days that we were obliged to eat
upon the hoor.

January, 1783. To-day, January the 8th, we are
at present in 27° ; the heat is very great. Our des-
tination is still a mystery, I do not even know if" we
have a positive one. One circumstance would make
me believe so. We were joined on the 5th by a ves-
sel which left Boston five or six days after us and
which brought a letter from the consul to M. de Vau-
dreuil. This informed him that, shortly after our de-
parture, an aid-de-camp of M. de Rochambeau had
arrived, bringing some letters which he had been
afraid to trust to this little vessel, but which he had
sent to Portsmouth to be brought to us by the ships
of war which were there and which were to rejoin us.
He also mentioned that a frigate commanded by M.
de Capellis had just arrived from France in the Dela-
ware, after a passage of forty-five days ; she, doubtless,
brought orders from the court, wliich, perhaps, would
have modified our route.

January IQth. The difficulty of finding a place for
writing, prevents my keeping my journal regularly.
To-day I have the means and I profit by it. We are
near Porto Rico, an island belonging to the Spaniards.

188

We cruise there to collect the merchantmen and trans-
ports from which we were separated. Many have
already rejoined us. We have chased two English
frigates without success. Our prizes at present con-
sist of only two brigs. According to their account
and that of a frigate, the Aigrette, commanded by
Cabanis, and the cutter, the Malin, commanded by
Beauvais, anchored at Saint John of Porto Rico, the
English are cruising with sixteen ships of the line
alongside of the cape of Saint Domingo, from which
we were not f^ir distant ; we had only ten vessels,
therefore the match was not equal. On the other
hand, they told us that the question of peace is under
consideration. However we prepared to leave our
cruising ground, to reach I know not what point,
which M. de Vaudreuil keeps a secret. It seems to be
a place of meeting agreed upon with the Spanish Heet.

Although we are still in the latitude of 20°, we do
not find the heat too powerful. The sun is intense,
but refreshing winds almost always prevail. On cross-
ing the tropic, we had the usual ceremony. It is the
carnival of the sailors, to whom it brings in some
money.

Here is the staff of the Triomphant which I have
not yet given.

M. de Vaudreuil, chief of the squadron.

189

Montcabier, tiag-oflficer.

The Chevalier de rAiguille, major.

The Chevalier de Griinaldi, adjutant.

The Chevalier de Viola, adjutant.

The Chevalier de la Panouse, of the marines, assist-
ant adjutant.

Repentigny and Desson, lieutenants.

Delange, Panat and Belzin, ensigns.

Mandat, de Dussus, le Pont and Moucheron, officers
of the marines.

Three auxiliary officers and three officers of the
regiment of Medoc, keeping garrison in the ship, who,
with the officers who were passengers, made 05 persons.

The soldiers and sailors were in proportiou, so that
there were more than eleven hundred persons on board
of this ship. We also had on board the famous Paul
Jones, who had asked permission to embark on board
of us and who behaved with great propriety.

At last we learnt, in the last days of January, that
it was at Porto Cabello, in New Spain, Province of
Caraccas, that we were to put into port. In order to
reach it we were compelled to cruise for a long time
between Curagoa and New Spain. This is only a dis-
tance of ten leagues and is not free from danger.
Bottom is easily found there and these channels were
unknown to us. Our Spanish pilot did not appear to

190

be acquainted with them. The island of Cura^oa be-
longs to the Dutch ; we went sufficiently near to it to
have a good view of it. It is seven leagues in length,
the city seemed pretty and announces that cleanliness ,
which distinguishes the Dutch. One evening we ap-
proached the coast so closely that a cannon was fired
from the land to inform us of the danger which we
were running.

Fehniary, 1783. On the 8th, several of our ships
were obliged to put into port at Curagoa, and we also
found ourselves separated from the convoy which we
had brought from Porto Rico. We were joined by a
French lugger, the captain of which came on board of
us. He informed us that the Bourgogne, a ship of
74 guns, which was a part of our squadron and of
which we had lost sight on the night of the 3d and
4th of February, had struck upon a sand bank, two
leagues from the Spanish coast, without being able to
get off. This lugger had been dispatched from Porto
Rico to bring assistance to the shipwrecked vessel and
had indeed succeeded, with a frigate and a small
Spanish vessel in saving three hundred men who had
remained on board of this ship, entirely destitute of
succor and food, for the vessel was half swallowed up
and was gradually sinking in the sand bank. This
captain told us that all the officers had perished in

191

endeavoring to land by means of long boats and rafts.
As among these officers there were twenty of the regi-
ment of Bourbonnois, and as we also had several of
the same regiment on board of the Triomphant, who
had relations and friends on board of the shipwrecked
vesseP (I myself had my brother-in-law in it!) as in short
we were exposed to the same danger on this unknown
coast, this news was a clap of thunder for us all. Yet
there are some doubts still as to the loss of the crew
and we impatiently w^aited to land in order to know
the truth. At last, on the night of the 10th, we ar-
rived at Porto Cabello, where we anchored.

Since morning, we had perceived the high moun-
tains which overlook this port and which do not pre-
sent an agreeable appearance. The next day we
landed and paid a visit to the assistant commandant
of the Province of Caraccas, to the commandant of
the city and to the administrator, the delegate of the
intendant, who resides at Caraccas, the capital of the
province.

We dined on the 12th at the house of M. de Nava,
the assistant commandant of the province. The
dinner, well cooked and abundant, composed of French

1 The Chevalier de Coriolis, whose account of the loss of the
Due de Bourgogne, and the sufferings of the survivors has been
printed by M. La Chesnais in the Revue Jlilitaire Franqais.

192

and Spanish ragouts, was served on rich silverware.
The city consists of nothing but huts, without orna-
ment, without hangings, without furniture and only
one story high. . The commandant's house had sev-
eral, with 1 irge rooms, but all quite bare.

At length we learnt from an officer of the regiment
of Bourbonnois, saved from the shipwreck of the
Bourgogne, and who arrived to-day, that only four
officers were lost, of whom my brother-in-law was not
one. I had the pleasure of seeing him the next day ;
he had saved himself upon a raft. There was much
disorder in this affiiir and the captain and some of the
officers will always be reproached for abandoning the
vessel and leaving three hundred soldiers and sailors
in it.

After the above mentioned day, the 12th, I took up
my quarters on shore, as likewise the superior officers
of the army ; the troops remained on board. My du-
ties did not amount to much, the whole being on ac-
count of the navy. My service consisted in keeping
the army-chest, and remitting money to the different
persons attached to the staff of our army, either as
employees or officers.

The heat here is excessive. Porto Cabello is only
the port of entry of the commercial company of Car-
accas, situated thirty leagues from here. This com-

193

pany deals especially in cocoa, and that of Caraccas is
considered the best. It is also an excellent harbor ;
the largest shi[)S anchor at the qnay. The country
would be able to furnish the best products of our
island, if it were cultivated ; but the Spaniards are as
lazy here as in their native country. I have visited
some residences in the vicinity. I have seen there
the most beautiful trees, palms, citrons, oranges, ba-
nanas and cocoa-nuts ; I have eaten some delicious pine-
apples there kSeveral of our officers went to Carac-
cas, a pretty considerable city where there is good
society, and some very rich people. A bishop resides
there who has a considerable revenue.

March, 1783. The heat is excessive ; almost all the
persons who lodge on shore became sick, and I was so
myself; my domestics likewise. De la Cheze's servant
died of fever, accompanied by vomiting. At last, on
the 24th of March, the frigate Andromaque arrived at
Porto Cabello and brought us official information of
the certainty of peace. The news was received with
delight. From this I except some little ambitious
grandees who think of nothing but themselves and
their own advantage. This peace, advantageous to
France, was disastrous to England, and it seemed to
all that if the former knew how to avail herself of this
25

194

prosperity, she might recover the superiority in Europe
to which England pretended.

At last we thought of leaving Porto Cabello, which
was becoming more and more injurious to our health.
On the 2d of April I went on board of the Triomphant,
with all my effects, where we again met with the
same officers ; there was no one in addition to them
except the Chevalier de Roquelaure, an ensign,
from the Bourgogne. On the !2d, I went lo dine on
board of the Souverain, commanded by M. de Glan-
deves, whom I had known in Corsica, an officer re-
spectable for his accomplishments and talents. On
the 3d, the squadron sailed, except the Triomphant,
the AugListe and the Nereide, which did not set sail
until the 4th. Having learnt that M. de Vaudreuil
granted the frigate Amazone to the Count de Segur,
in order to proceed directly to Poi't-au-Prince or to
Jacmel, in the island of Saint Domingo, where he had
a house (the squadron was to put into port at Saint
Domingo, but at the cape) . I obtained permission to go
on board of the Amazone with M. de Segur. We had
a very good wind and made a hundred leagues in three
days. All this time was pleasant for us. M. de Gas-
ton, the captain, treated us very well ; he had with
him two or three amiable officers and M. de Segur,
really a man of wit, a poet and an interesting story

195

teller, who added much animation to the conversation.
We also had M. Berthier, an ofhcer of the staff of the
army, who accompanied M. de Se,2;ur. The officers
of the navy were, with M. de Gaston, Da petit
Thouars, his mate ; he is from Saumur ; he is an odd
young man, but intellectual, zealous and devoted to
his calling ; La Mothe Gnillonnais, an ensign, and
Boulen, an officer of marines, besides two auxiliary
officers. There were also three officers of the regi-
ment of the Cape, with a detachment from this corps
which was in garrison there.

On the 8th, in the morning, we discovered the
coast of St. Domingo ; it was the point of Salines
in the Spanish part, forty leagues from the place
where we were to land ; this point semed to be unculti-
vated and uninhabited. We were almost becalmed
on this day, and we made yevy little headway the
next day.

On the 9th, we perceived at the distance of three
leagues a fleet of thirty sails, several of which were
ships of war. We concluded that they were English
on their way to the Windw^ard islands and Januiica ;
that was the route. Hostilities had not ceased in
these seas until after the od.

On the 11th, we had advanced very little, having
no wind except at intervals ; we were, however, pretty

196

near the coast ; it is mountainous and we did not per-
ceive many inhabitants.

On the 12th, having sent a boat ashore to a little
town which was in sight, we learnt that w^e were at
Jacmel. M. de Segur, M, Berthier and myself pro-
ceeded to it in a boat at four o'clock in the afternoon.
It is a small town of about fifty houses, where there is,
nevertheless, a military commandant, at whose house
w^e were put on shore. M. de Segur, being desirous of
setting out that evening, the commandant procured
some saddle-horses for us, and we started, after supper,
at eight o'clock for Leogane, which is fourteen leagues
distant. The road is mountainous, bordered by preci-
pices, cut up by torrents and very picturesque. It
was beautiful, clear moonlight, so that we enjoyed the
spectacle ; a negro served as our guide ; he went on
foot ; as he was tired and I had the best horse, he
mounted behind me. A league before arriving at
Leogane, we found avast plain where there were seve-
ral dwelling houses. We observed that of M. Michel,
called the Barbot residence. It was five o'clock in
the morning and daylight when we arrived at Leo-
gane. This town is small, but pretty, with a hand-
some square. We dined at the house of M. de
Theridan, who procured carriages for us to proceed to
Port-au-Prince, distant seven leagues. We performed

197

this journey in three hours and a half and arrived at
Port-au-Prince at nine o'clock at night. We stopped
at the door of a large inn and I had not yet got out of
the coach wlien an inhabitant approached. I recog-
nized my uncle whom I embraced with transports of
joy. He took me to the house of one of his friends,
M. Prieur, whose house was in the neighborhood and
where they were at supper when the noise of the car-
riage attracted his attention. In the evening he took
me to his residence, situated a league from Port-au-
Prince.

On the next day, the 14th, the Count de Segur, for
whom my uncle had sent to the city, arrived and
shortly afterwards departed for his residence, which
was in the neighborhood. On the 16th, my uncle
gave a great dinner of tliirty covers in honor of him,
which was admirably served by some negroes and
negresses, making a very good appearance, the women
in white with a kind of hoop petticoats. This dinner
was returned to us on the 19th and we visited M. de
Segur's residence.

I pass over the recollections, altogether personal, of
my stay at St. Domingo. They interest only my
children to whom I have often related them.

The Cape is a city with broad and straight streets,
but the houses of which have only a ground-floor.

198

They are of wood and the windows are without glass.
Their appearance is not very agreeable. Even the
greater part of the single storeys are not ceiled, in
order to give more air, so that we see the woodwork
and the roof which is of small boards. A few houses
are covered with slates. There is. besides, much build-
ing and the city grows every day. It is deficient from
the want of quays, which are entirely wanting. The
church is neat and large.

On going to see one of my uncle's neighbors, we
found him engaged in flogging one of the negroes, who
had been detected in a fault. However, all the in-
habitants do not treat them harshly, and some are
even very good to them. But if more correct ideas
are entertained in the colonies respecting the condition
of the slaves, who are often treated with humanity,
this condition is none the less cruel. I know that
there is no registry kept of their birth and that they
are not taken to church to be baptized ; the most part
have no religious principles which no one takes the
trouble to give them.

At last, I had to leave, and I proceeded to the Cape
where the squadron was assembled. There I found
the Baron de Viomenil, with whom I was to be em-
ployed. I also saw again my brother-in-law, Baptiste
de Coriolis. I had hardly time to see the Cape, which

199

is a considerable city, with stone houses, of two
storeys. Much was said at this time of the visit which
had been paid to this city, a few days before, by Prince
WiUiau),^ the son of the king of England.

On the 30th of April, I embarked upon the North-
umberland, with M. de Vaudreuil and the Baron de
Viomenil. Our squadron consisted of eight vessels
only. The Couronne, the Triomphant and the Sou-
verain received orders to proceed to Toulon and were
not to start until some days after us. M. de Medine
commanded the Northumberland and the other ofhcers
were :

Le A^eneur, lieutenant.

Gombaut, Yasselot and Chauvigny, ensigns.

Bossard, lieutenant of a frigate and auxiliary officer.

Mouton, pilot with the brevet of lieutenant of a fri-
gate.

Belfonds, St. Pair and de Baunay, officers of marines.
We had very nearly the same officers as on the Triom-
phant, with the addition of M. de Segur.

On the 2d of May, we were still only ten leagues
from the Cape. Calms prevailed which delayed us. On
the morning of the 4th we were in the latitude of
Cap-Aux-Sables, one of the Turks' islands; we had

Afterwards William IV.

200

doubled them all before noon. This part of St. Do-
mingo is encompassed by a multitude of islands. We
were uncomfortable enough on board. I rented the
cabin of our boatswain, situated on the poop in a good
air, and I thus had a corner to write in, to retire to
and to be alone, which is very agreeable. Thus I
never was so comfortable on board, my room was my
happiness. I was at liberty to go to bed when I
wished to; it is usually early. I also rose at day-
break, then I went to walk upon the deck, where there
were not man}- persons, and to breathe the fresh air.
I then breakfasted with Caraccas cocoa. I dressed
myself and remained in my room until ten or eleven
o'clock ; I then went down into the council-cabin,
where the time was spent in conversing until dinner
time. I ate, with eight or ten persons, at M. de Vau-
dreuil'b table ; we lived well. After dinner, I made
up ni}' party, I returned to my room, I conversed.

On the 9 th, towards night, in ordinary weather, we
saw, at about half a league from us, a water-spout, or
otherwise a column of water which rose from the sea
in a cloud or which fell into it out of a cloud. We
distinctly saw the column of water, the motion of the
sea and of the water to the point of connection be-
tween the column and the sea ; this column appeared
to rise.

201

On the 14th of May, we were in sight of the Ber-
mudas. They are a string of several isLands which
may be about ten leagues in length ; they belong to
the English. The climate there is mild, and these
islands are reputed to be healthy. The English send
their sick thither to recover their health ; there is,
however, no harbor for ships of war; but they are
an asylum for merchantmen and a place of resort for
pirates.

After this period, nothing remarkable occurred.
On the 16th of June, we perceived that the color of
the water was changing, which showed that we were
approaching land, although, according to our reckon-
ing, we ought to be a hundred leagues from Brest.
Between two and three o'clocl^ we found bottom at
eighty-five fathoms. It was supposed that we were
forty leagues from Ouessant.

On the 17th, at eight o'clock, a sailor, who was in
the tops, cried out " Land !" but it was the allurement
of some louis which M. de Viomenil had promised to
whomsoever should announce it first that made him
see it ; for we again proceeded for more than three
hours without discovering anything. At last, shortly
after noon, M. de Medine himself, the captain of the
ship, saw a breaker, which was perceived and signaled
at the same time by some other vessels. We imme-
26

202

diatel}^ ran up. This breaker is known by the name
of The Saints ; it is situated at the entrance of the
harbor, and is a very dangerous rock. We were a
a league from it and it was time to tack about. An
hour afterwards we saw the land quite distinctly. At
last, at three o'clock we were in the harbor of Brest.
Boats were immediately launched in the sea and we
repaired to land. It was a great satisfaction ; but the
matters of business to which I was obliged to attend,
on my arrival, and wliich were already occupying me,
prevented my feeling this joy so vividly.

We found fires in almost all the houses and Avarmed
ourselves with pleasure. I was obliged to remain at
Brest until the 2d of July, 1788. I bought a carriage
and horses and set out by short stages. I did not ar-
rive at Rennes until the evening of the 6th ; I spent
a day there and was at Angers on the 9th at noon.
My brother, whom 1 had notified, was awaiting me ; I
passed through the city without stopping and pro-
ceeded immediately to Echarbot. I found my wife
and children on the road. I do not speak of the
pleasure which I felt on seeing my family again, after
an absence of more than three years. These emotions,
these feelings cannot be described.

INDEX.

Acadians at Baltimore, 171.
Adams, Samuel, 181.
Adolphe, 48.
Alley, 110.

Anderson, Judge William, 167.
Andre, Major, 68, 70, 128.
Arbuthnot, Admiral, 17, 24, 66.
Arnold, Benedict, 68, 70, 76, 90, 94,
128, 130.

Beaudoin (Bowdoin), 49.

Beaudoin, Lieut. Colonel, 76.

Beauvais, 187.

Belfonds, 198.

Belzin, 188.

Berthier, 193, 194.

Bignore, 125.

Blanchard, 51, 58, 174, 183.

Bossard, 198.

Bouleu, 194.

Bouley, 59.

Bourdais, a domestic, 9, 57.

Bowen, Dr., 77.

Bowker, 78.

Brick, 180.

Brizon, S.

Buffbn, 82.

Buissey, 7.

Byron, Admiral, 12.

Cabanis, 187.

Caravagne, 59.

Carter, 50.

Carter, Mrs., 87.

Champmartin, 185.

Champtier, 7,

Charette, 185.

Chirfontaiue, 7.

Clinton, General, 68, 114.

Closen, Aide de Camp, 59.

Coligny, 173.

Collet, Aide Mareclial General des

Logis, 59.
Cooper, Rev. Dr., 181.
Cordier, 7.
Cornwallis, General, 9, 124, 136, 138,

145, 148, 151, 152, 154.
Cornwallis, Commodore, 27.
Corte, 42, 63, 83.
Coste, 59.
Coster, 114, 116.
Coussard, 6.
Custine, 60.

Daltains, 185.
Damblimon, 185.
Daure, 144.
D'Aboville, 58,

204

D'Alpheran, 103.

D'Auticliamp, Count, 142.

D'Artois, Count, 175.

D'Ogi-e, 59.

De Ban-as, Count, 103, 139, 140, 144.

De Baunay, 198.

De Beville, 54, 58.

De Beville, Jr. , 59.

De Bouille, Marquis, 156.

De Broglie, Marshal, 150.

De Broglie, Prince, 175.

De Bros, Chevalier, 185.

De Capellis, 33, 47, 50, 51. 53, 186.

De Chabannes, 60.

De Charlus, 60.

De Chastellux, Chevalier, 58, 60, 75,

85, 88, 104, 123, 141, 144, 145,

149, 152, 179, 181.
De Choisy, 68, 141, 149.
De Cluniard, 157.
De Coriolis, Chevalier, 10, 43, 197.
De Corny, 39, 40, 41, 49, 58, 87.
De Custine, Count, 7, 16, 76, 87, 89,

92, 138, 139, 140, 158, 164, 166.
De Damas, xVide de Camp, 59.
De Deux Fonts, Count, 60, 76, 154,

155.
De Deux Fonts, the younger, 150.
De Dillon, Colonel, 60, 63, 146.
D'Espinousse, 180, 182.
D'Estaing, 11, 12, 77.
De Ferry, Aide de Camp, 59.
De Gachain, 74.
De Gaston, 193.
De Glandeves, 193.
De Grasse, Count, 103, 105, 107, 129,

130, 136, 138, 139, 140, 143, 143,

146, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 158.

De Grimat, 150.

De Grimaldi, 188.

De Guichen, Admiral, 15, 17, 19,66,
68, 158.

De James, 7.

De Jousecourt, 103.

De Kergu, 96.

De Lange, 188.

De Lameth, Aide Marcschal, 150.

De Laubardieres, 140.

De Lauzun, 2, 60, 75, 82, 106, 121,
145, 146, 153, 170, 175.

De Laval, Marquis, 60, 76, 87, 176.

De Luz, Chevalier, 49.

De ]Manterrier, Chevalier, 3.

De 3Iarigny, Chevalier, 3, 23, 25.

Demars, 25, 42, 54, 55.

De Medine, 185, 198, 200.

De Menouville, 59.

De Montbarrey, 91.

De Nava, 190.

Denis, 7.

De Noailles, Viscount, 60, 63.

De Pange. 7, 60.

De Riom, 185.

De Rocliambcau, Count, 1, 2, 36,44,
45, 47, 49, 51, 53, 54, 55, 58, 59,
61, 66, 69, 82, 83, 86, 104, 107,
120, 121, 122, 123, 127, 141, 142,
143, 144, 152, 153, 154, 155, 177,
178, 179, 181, 186.

De Rochambeau, Vicomte, 60, 74,
103.

De Roquelaure, 193.

De Saint James, 87, 91.

De Saint Mesme, Colonel, 60.

De Saint Simon, 148.

De Sanson, 113.

205

De Sartine, 83.

De Segur, Marquis, 91, 175.

De Segur, Count, 193, 194, 195, 19(5,

198.
Deshayes, 7.
Desson, 188.
De Steuben, 143, 174.
Desouclies, 175.
Destouches, 2, 93, 95, 99, 101.
De Suffein, 174.
De Tarle, Chevalier, 1, 9, 30, 43, 54,

58, 59, 70, 106, 107, 119.
De Ternay, Adn.iral, 2", 5, 23, 26, 33,

36, 39, 43, 45, 66, 77, 83, 99, 103.
De Theridan, 195.
De Tilly, 3.
Detbis, 185.

De Vauban, Aide de Camp, 59.
De Vaudreuil, 169, 176, 179, ISO,

185, 186, 187, 193, 198.
De Vaudreuil, Jr., 180.
De Veymeranges, 87.
De Vida, 188.

De Villemanzy, 25, 58, 143, 154.
De Viomenil, Baron, 7, 16, 20, 21,

26, 36, 39, 45, 54, 55, 58, 60, 66,

84, 87, 93, 98, 138, 150, 153, 157,

161, 175, 181, 183, 184, 197, 198,

199, 200.
De Viomenil, Count, 54, 58, 60.
De Volnais, 51.
De I'Aiguille, 188.
De la Cheze, 81, 88, 130, 149, 151

155, 192.
De la Clochetterie, 3, 23, 98.
De TEtombe, 180.
De la Fayette, 38, 39, 57, 60, 136,

140, 141, 143, 150.

De la Grandiere, 3, 7, 34, 105.

De la Luzerne, 68, 09, 70, 130, 157,

173.
De la Motlie-Piquct, 127, 150.
De la Panouse, 188.
De la Pernuse, 3, 91.
De la Touche, 39.
Delevan, 177.
De la Villebrune, 98, 144.
Digby, Admiral, 146.
Dourville, 77.
Drouillet, 144.
Dabourg, Cromot, Aide de Camp,

00.
Du Coudray, 137.
Dumas, 59.

Duparc de Bellegrade, 7, 11.
Du Petit-Thouars, 193.
Du Portail, GO, 115.

Earl, Abigail, 43.

Fanit, 7.
Fleury, 61.
Flint, 88.
Franlilin, 49.

Gau. 56, 58.
Gaulcdet, 69, 107.
Gautier, 7.
Glandeves, 185.
Goguet, Marie, 133.
Gombaut, 198.
Greene, General, 80, 110.
Greene, Mrs., 80,81,87.

206

Greeve (Graves ?) Admiral, 4

31.

Loj-as, 7.

Guzence, 7.

Lyon, 48.

Haake, 80.

Macarthy, 7.

Hancock, 49, 56, 181.

Mandat, 188.

Harris, 71, 73.

Marassin, 7.

Heth (Heatli ?) General, 130.

Menonville, 7.

Holker, 70, 137.

Mesme, Viscount, 84.

Hood, Admiral, 157.

Michel, 195.
Mitton, 185.

Jones, Paul, 188.

Montesquieu, grandson of the pre

Josselin, 7.

sident, 60.

Jumencom-t, 88.

Montcabier, 188.
Morgan, General, 89.
Moucheron, 188.

Kergu, 7.

Mouton, 198.

Knox, General, 86.

Nadal, 58.

La Barolien, 105.

Necker, 125, 127, 128.

Laforest, 92.

Nupuy, 7.

La Jonquieres, 7.

La Mothe Guillonais, 194.

Laubanie, 7.

Olonnc, 60.

Lauberdiere, 59.

Opterre, 59.

Laurens, son of the president of

congress, 86, 87, 133.

Pache, 185.

Lazie, 58.

Panat, 188.

Lee, 57.

Paoli, 117.

Legritz, 7.

Pearson, General, 113.

Le Pont, 188.

PisanQon, 88.

Le Veneur, 198.

Prieur, 196.

Lj^icb, 60.

Lincoln, General, 80, 121.

Livet, 7.

Rejientigni, 188.

Lombard, 2.

Robillard, First Surgeon, 59.

Louis, Captain, an Iroquois,

61.

Rodney, Admiral, 17, 19, 66, 158

Lourmel, 7.

Romain, 69.

207

Saint Pair, 198.
Schuyler, General, 114.
smart, 3.
Smallwood, 75.
Stirling, Lord, 118, 133.
Smoden, Major, 168.
Sufferu, 133.

Tarleton, 146.

Temple, xVIrs., 49.

Trumbull, Gov. of Connecticut, 110.

Tucrenet, 59.

Turpin, 59.

Van Gelder, 133.

Varnum, Gen. of militia, 55, 56.

Vasselot, 198.
Vcymcranges, 59.
Vigo-Kouissilon, 131.

Wadsworth, 109.

Walsh, Margaret, 164.

Washington, 66, 67, 69, 76, 86, 89,
90, 93, 104, 106, 107, 113, 115,
116, 117, 118, 119, 130, 133, 137,
138, 139, 133, 136, 148, 151, 153,
154, 165, 166, 167, 173, 176.

Washington, Mrs., 165, 166.

Wa.shington, the mother and sis-
ter of, 163.

William, prince of England after-
wards William IV, 197.

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Full text of "The journal of Claude Blanchard : commissary of the French auxiliary army sent to the United States during the American revolution, 1780-1783"

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